The Crimson Lobby
by Zoram Selrof
Summary: Sequel to The Kyutora Threat. Soon after the newest stage of the rivalry between Golden Star and Shunoros, a murky organization named Crimson Lobby gets in the move, trying to take all of their advanced technology by force. Yet the Crimson Lobby won't the only enemy to be fought: a mysterious "Ghost Server" must be found and defeated before it's too late... Rated M for lemon.
1. Chapter 1: Folk's day

**The Crimson Lobby**

**By Zoram Selrof**

**Chapter 1: Folk's day**

11:48 AM (Japan Time), Monday May the 2nd, 2012…

"… Flamethrower!"

"Heh! Aqua Sword!"

"Heck."

"Starting to feel the despair?"

"Who is gonna feel the despair?"

"Your fans, maybe?"

"And here I thought you were serious."

"It's called sarcasm."

"Loopholes."

"Maybe."

"Oi, Beta! We need another strategy!"

"I'm trying, Zarashe – kun! Heck! Even without their "Boundary"… They're tough to beat!"

"Heh, heh, heh… If you look down on us… You run into a tight spot!"

"It's not like we were looking down on ya folk!"

"Yorkshire accent, my fellow?"

"What Yorkshire accent? Aren't we speaking in Japanese to begin with?"

"It's an irony. Here, catch! Earthquake 3!"

"Heck!"

"That was close, damn it."

Two Net Navis were having a duel in the Reverse Internet, as evidenced by the countless irregular sized platforms of rock and stone which floated across the whole area.

"Heh, heh, heh. Shunoros' End Angel has come to put an end to your wandering days, Manipular."

"Where the heck did ya did that outta from?"

"Something named "Forerunner Saga" by Greg Bear?"

"Forerunner…?"

End Angel, the one on the right, had a white helmet which was shaped like a swan as seen from above with the beak's upper edge running past the forehead and providing some "shade" to the face: the side edges had black painting over them and formed a trapeze-like drawing.

The sides of the helmet per se consisted on a navy blue piece of armor over a round white circle.

A blue piece of armor shaped like an inclined seat emerged from there travelled down until the base of the neck: bluish transparent shades covered the eyes: his eyes' irises were blue.

His forehead had the _kanji_ for _shuuen_ or "end" written on it using blood red coloring too.

The chest armor had the initials "EA" written in blood red color and set on the protruding upper edge of the armor which was white in color: a small depression at the middle formed the shape of the "V" letter: a blue-colored thin stripe ran across the armor to then form a vertical column aiming downwards: the small space at the SW and SE edges of the armor below the blue stripe was colored white.

Two smooth wings came out from behind the body's shoulder armors: they were built of three pieces split by thin black lines: the first piece had a one-third-portion colored metallic gray but the rest of it had a navy blue coloring to it as it extended and ended in a diagonal angle aiming SW: the second piece was colored white instead and shared the exact length.

The third piece was shorter and about half the length of the others.

The shoulder armors were made of spheroids with a small triangle aiming downwards and protecting part of the arm from the sides.

The rest of his design was identical to the others when it came to the forearms, boots and knee protections.

His face looked like he was a teen guy and his height was over a meter and sixty, maybe closer to a seventy.

"Isn't that part of the _Halo_ franchise? Miquel's a fan…"

"Yessir. Maybe he's read 'em with a magnifying glass?"

"Why should the guy?"

"Dunno, Beta X…"

Beta X, on the other hand, used black as his body's main color: he had a white piece of armor set over the chest which contained a ruby jewel and two wing-like extensions spreading across the torso until the shoulders: the golden-colored Alphabet "X" character was set within a piece of armor located over the upper edge of the ruby.

His eyes' irises were blood red in coloring but they lacked pupils: his facial expression denoted seriousness.

His helmet's main color was black as well yet he had some blue pieces of armor built around the edges of it and across the middle of the helmet: the ruby had been set directly above his nose and was aiming downwards along his helmet's front part.

The helmet included five extensions shaped like wings and colored white plus a golden edge: two formed on the lower edge of the helmet, another two formed at a height over the eyes and the last one sprouted from the middle of his helmet while aiming upwards.

A golden edge surrounded his neck and formed a small collar-like object around it: his shoulders had white armor over them.

Three thin spear-like extensions formed behind them.

These gave off the impression of a wing as well: the uppermost piece was golden in coloring while the other two pieces were white.

His arms' skin was black until the elbow: white armor encompassed it and extended until the hands and fingers: a golden ring served as additional protection for the wrists.

The rest of his upper body had no decoration whatsoever until the hips, where the leg armor began at: a golden edge in the shape of a triangle marked the start of it.

The remainder of the legs' armor was painted using white color palette: the knees had extra armor over them and two small and short wing-like extensions.

Golden pieces of armor showed up over the ankles yet there was a space between them and the legs: they were bent upwards to form a triangle and included the wing shapes on their edges.

Lastly, his feet's armor included two pieces of outer edge and another two pieces which were separated by a slight space between the front and the rear of them.

Overall, his appearance was reminiscent of a "fallen angel" given the color motifs and all the winged extensions.

He was about the same height and age as End Angel.

"I know, Zarashe – kun… He's pulling my leg." Beta X fumed.

"More like pulling your HP points." End Angel laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. How funny, Mr. Anderson."

"Hey. At least I'm not as bad as the "Radio Trio"…."

"Huff! Video Man, Burner Man and Needle Man… V-B-N… Those three and their _Mortadelo & Filemón_ radio broadcasts… At last we convinced them to upload them in our blog so that we can choose whether to listen to them or not!" Beta X sounded exasperated.

"I know." Zarashe, his Operator, sighed.

"Your own blog name is misinformation: did you know it?"

"It wasn't meant to be in the start but since it's become practical to make any desperados underestimate us…" Beta X rolled his eyes.

"Behold!"

"Now what."

"Your doom!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Carrots with soy sauce!"

"Oh come on." Zarashe groaned outta pure annoyance.

"The madness is coming!"

"Not Superintendent Oda again." He groaned next.

"And Eisei, too." Beta X grumbled.

"He orbits 'round ya chums." End Angel laughed.

"Are we going to end this fight someday? Thunder Ball!" Beta X complained.

His armor pieces switched to pale green coloring and he drew a white buster which had a fin-like shape forming mid-way through its length: a golden edge ran up the right edge of the buster as well: it shot a greenish spheroid with electricity surrounding it and which latched into End Angel's chest to electrocute him but he merely chuckled.

"It tickles."

"Lovely. I need to re-design the output." Beta X sighed.

"Don't give up so easily, man." Zarashe tried to encourage.

"Easier said than done."

"Don't we all say that?" End Angel teased.

"Dunno."

"Let the donuts hit the teeth!"

"Oh please. That's lame."

"Come!"

"Huff. You're asking for it! Ice Mode! Ice Spread!"

His armor changed to sky-blue coloring: he shot a curved mass of ice which shattered into multiple fragments and they stabbed different parts of End Angel's body: he didn't seem to mind those either.

"Tickling tickler of tickles…"

"Please…" Zarashe groaned.

"He's toying with us… And if you were hoping to pull off that weird sword which looks like a Muramasa hack then I came prepared."

"Copy Damage, eh? Fine. Let's see if the angel can bite."

"You're an angel yourself too." Beta X reminded him.

"Yeah… An angel of Cruxis!"

"Not _Tales of Symphonia_ again." Zarashe growled.

"Maybe you would prefer _Tales of Eisei_ instead?" He laughed at his joke.

"How devious of you."

"Everyone seems to say the same to me. Ms. Panama included."

"The heat must be bad for your moods."

"Guess that. Given how I'm natural from Eastern Europe, then…"

"Program Advance! Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Slot In! Dream Sword!" Zarashe announced.

"Let's go!" Beta X challenged.

"Amusing, by the High One! Arcane Sword!"

"Dream Sword!"

End Angel drew a sword with some runes written on its surface and a brownish hilt: he flew towards Beta X (whose colors had return to default) as Beta X jumped into the air and turned on two jets on his back to "fly" forward (End Angel just made his wings move): both swords clashed and some streaks of energy jumped off the clash to impact the ground at random around them: both seemed to be stuck in a deadlock and neither wielding to the other: End Angel kept on having a smug smile on his face while Beta X was grimacing: the energy build-up suddenly imploded and the shockwave pushed both of them apart: they quickly landed on the floor and looked up to see that each had gotten some bruises and burn marks but which were nothing.

"Heh! Not bad, my chum… Let the chums hit the fellows!"

"Stop with the _Bodies_ parodies already…" Zarashe complained.

"So? Did the deck hit the water?"

"Oh come on."

"Welcome to the GS Nerds: our official blog!" He suddenly announced.

"I know…! That's OUR blog's name… The blog of "Golden Star"… At first V-B-N intended for it to be a joke but then the name stuck when we saw that it was useful as misinformation…" Zarashe sighed in defeat.

"Beware! It is about to descend!"

"Oh yeah? A secret weapon?" Beta X drily asked.

"Maybe." End Angel teased.

"… Or do you mean _Black 2_ and _White 2_?" Zarashe guessed with a sigh as if he'd already heard the joke.

"Heh, heh, heh. They did catch us with the pants down! Everyone saying it was gonna be "Gray"… Too bad they won't be out until the end of June: but we can wait. Waiting Man is here."

"Waiting Man… Earth, swallow me whole."

"Please…" Beta X was much if not totally annoyed by now.

"Well then… I guess I'll leave at here for today. I just wanted to be a reminder that you guys shouldn't rust. Remember what happened in New Year's Eve?" He smirked.

"Huff." Zarashe grumbled.

"Grrr…" Beta X growled.

Forming a snicker, End Angel flew upwards and formed a black circle behind him the edges of which seemed to distort the light in the form of ripples: he flew inside and it vanished so Beta X fumed and lowered his weapon arm.

"He wasn't serious, huh?" Someone asked.

"Huh? Ah. Blues."

Blues walked over to him from the west after dropping from a higher platform and Beta X shrugged.

"Yeah. Guess the heat IS to blame." He grumbled.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Blues dully confirmed.

"So, Ijuuin… Have you managed to stay sane?" Zarashe asked.

"Somewhat."

Ijuuin Enzan opened his communications screen to show his face: he looked dull and unimpressed.

"What about you guys, Zarashe?"

"We've had to bear with troll emails from both Eisei and Ms. Heiress."

"Ayanokouji's in the club, too. Lovely."

Zarashe's window displayed him as being a teen guy around Enzan's age who had messy blackish hair yet he had sunglasses on.

"Hello there~! My folk!" A cheery voice rang out in the background of Enzan's screen.

"Oh heck. Speak of the Devil." He growled.

"My, my. Ijuuin – kun! It's been a while, by Uncle Merton's half-beard."

"Superintendent Oda, sir. There's something in the roof which looks like worth your attention, sir." Blues called out.

"Oho. It's gotta be Uncle Donut's nephew: Donete! See you, my chums."

Laughing in the background, he apparently came out of the room Enzan was at and he sighed in relief.

"Phew. You saved the day, Blues."

"It was the least I could do, Enzan – sama."

"Ijuuin – kun! Trouble!"

"What's going on, Meijin?"

"Superintendent Oda…! He's hidden my coffee cup again!" He groaned.

"Not again…"

"Here."

"Oh! Obihiro – kun! Saved. Where was it?"

"The adjacent office's cupboard…" Obihiro grumbled.

"Heck. The madness is coming, alright." Zarashe cursed.

"Heh, heh, heh… I warned ya…"

A new window displayed a teen guy having reddish messy hair and blue eye irises: his face was familiar enough.

"End Angel! You did that or what?" Enzan demanded.

"Ernst Stroger."

"Fine. Stroger. What's your goal?"

"Dunno. I felt like being mischievous today. Maybe next time I'll do something serious. Like going all out on Beta X."

"Hmpf." Beta X was unimpressed.

"Oi, guys… Where's Yakano?"

"Punk? Are you looking for someone?"

"Yakano, from the database managing department… He sent me a mail saying he'd run into trouble 'ere…"

Punk, Meiin's Navi, came into the spot and looked around, surprised: they heard someone whistling a tune behind Enzan and he closed his eyes while he seemingly tried to resist the urge to explode from exasperation, annoyance and bad mood.

"Oh heck." Punk realized what was going on.

"Well then. See ya. Glory to the High One!"

Ernst giggled and closed his screen while Beta X directed a totally hostile glare at Zarashe: he gulped and seemed to get some non-spoken message so Beta X was retrieved and left the scene while Blues and Punk slapped their foreheads in defeat.

"Ahem! "Those who returned from "There"!" Oda announced.

"And where's "There", huh?" Enzan didn't bother to open his eyes.

"The Beyond, but of course."

"Not _M&F_ again… Let's go, Blues. We need to hunt hints on some weapon smuggling gang operating in Oosaka." Enzan fumed.

"Yes, sir. Run while you can, Punk."

"Gotcha, man… Damn it."

Both Navis got retrieved and Enzan shut down his screen: the area became deserted save for a figure peeking there while lying face-down in the ground behind a rock in a higher platform: they seemed to be serious given their glare and concentrated.

_Hmpf… So that wasn't their true potential… They were but toying with each other… Whatever… Sooner or later… I'll get to see it… And one day I'll overcome them all…! And be the strongest in the Cyber World…!_

17:19 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Man."

"So? Did you finally land into the real world, Dekao?"

"Somewhat… I'm struggling a lot… And if things feel so hectic now then I don't wanna imagine how they're gonna be in one month… When the final exams…"

"Heh! A gal 'ere outshines 'em all!"

"Yaito – chan… That dialect doesn't fit you."

"Don't worry, Meiru – chan. I'll make them broom the broom."

"Broom the broom? Oh please."

"Join the club, Meiru."

"It's growing."

"I get the irony, you two."

"Good afternoon."

"Hi, Leon… Beware of Ms. Heiress."

"I know, Netto – san."

"Tee, heh, heh! I'm the Center of the Universe!"

"Is that so?"

"Man! Leon – chan. That face doesn't fit cha."

"Please save me the suffixes, Ayanokouji – sama."

The Akihara Middle 4-A Class (Ooyama Dekao, Sakurai Meiru, Hikari Netto and Saito) came out from the building and began to cross the main yard: Dekao was sighing and hanging his head down in defeat, Yaito was smug, Meiru didn't find Yaito's jokes to be funny, and the twins looked totally unimpressed.

"Tee, heh, heh! Leonel – chan!"

"Yaito – chan! Quit it already!"

"My ears are burnin'! Cha talkin' bout Yaito – chan, my dear?"

"I give up."

They were joined by a younger student who could be about 13 or 14 years old and slight over a meter and fifty tall or coming closer to a meter and sixty.

He had white messy hair plus eyes with brown irises: his face was smooth and he had a good "profile" to him.

He currently looked like he was starting to get exasperated.

"Sorry, guys! I was looking for a pencil I'd lost."

"Oh. Tooru – kun."

"Hiwaka – chan, welcome to the party!"

"Ayanokouji – san! Let's not start the Nickname War again, please!"

Hikawa Tooru (same age as the others, brown hair and irises) joined them in a rush only to get a joked pulled on him by Yaito.

"Ahem, ahem!"

"YIKES! Pa-papa! Why are you here?"

"I had the instinct that I needed to fix that spoiled behavior of you, Yaito."

"Thank goodness."

Yaito's father, Mr. Ayanokouji, suddenly showed up on the entrance next to Yaito's limo: she gasped as he fumed and directed an annoyed glare at her: all of her smug behavior seemed to be gone in one instant and she was starting to look afraid: the other students sighed and seemed to be somewhat relieved that her father had come to scold her.

"Get in. Today you've got business management homework to do as well: if you want to be a respectable heiress then you must learnt to do your job. And you mustn't get used to have others do it in your place instead."

"Yes, sir…" She sighed in defeat.

She climbed the limo and Mr. Ayanokouji sighed.

"I'm sorry for all the trouble she causes for you guys."

"It's nothing, sir. But she does need some lessons, sir." Meiru replied.

"Yes, sir… There are limits to things, sir." Netto added.

"Indeed there are. You can't go over them or disaster ensues. Well then: see you around."

"Good afternoon, sir."

Mr. Ayanokouji climbed into the limo too and it departed: the group sighed in relief and began walking down the street.

"So? Anything new?" Tooru asked.

"Shunoros, you mean? No. They've got no strategy anymore. They're just content with being rivals to Golden Star and the Net Police. A reminder that each side must be on constant watch and re-invent themselves to avoid rusting themselves…" Netto shrugged.

"Like Netto – kun said… They do have their robot fly around and broadcast Evil God Zorc's lines from the "_Yu-Gi-Oh!" anime_ series but that's the only thing it does and nobody minds it anymore." Saito continued.

"The mood seems to have improved onboard _Purgatory_, though…" Leon commented.

"Well. As long as it does… Guess I should contact Miquel and see if we could go have a drink one day to have some chat…" Netto muttered.

"Guts, guts! Guts Man got beaten by some guy named Barbatos, de guts!"

"Wha~t? Where'd you go off to?"

"Reverse Internet, de guts… Guts Man wanted to train in the first levels close to the surface, de guts…"

"And you annoyed that Barbatos guy or what?" Dekao questioned.

"No, de guts. The guy suddenly said "show me your power", de guts, so Guts Man fought but the guy was thin and quick, de guts… But Guts Man did get to use Rocket Guts Punch and Guts Punch when the guy got close, de guts! But the attacks' output was too high, de guts! After Guts Man's HP fell to 20 HP the guy suddenly said "boring" and ran off, de guts!"

"Barbatos again, huh. And given the description… He's not bothered to put on the armor again. Wonder how long he'll manage to hold off "it" before it takes over…" Saito calmly lifted his eyebrows.

"Ah. Leon. There you are. Should we go?"

"Ms. Secretary. Good afternoon, ma'am. Let us go."

A woman walked up towards the group: she appealed to be on her late thirties.

Her face's shape looked nice but if one tried to look at it as a profile then it lost most of its charm.

She wore a black hat set to that it hid her gaze and she wore a black blouse plus a pair of jeans and rain boots as well.

"See you tomorrow, everyone."

"Yeah. See ya."

Leon walked back with the woman towards a parked blue Hyundai and climbed in: they departed as the group reached a crossroad.

"I'll be going. See you tomorrow." Hikawa waved good-bye.

"Meiru – chan! I'd come out of the Cyber Gym in Cyber City when that "Barbatos" Navi challenged me. Odd thing: he didn't bother to regenerate his HP he'd lost fighting Guts Man." Roll suddenly reported.

"You don't look too beaten or nervous, so… What happened?" Meiru asked as she looked at her Link PET's screen.

"Oh well. I used the combo of the "Suikomi" Virus and a "Long Sword" Virus plus "Area Steal"… He did get rid of them but then he seemed to feel something painful and ran off…"

"Aha-hah." The twins seemed to have seen it coming.

"What's with the guy?" Dekao asked.

"Oh well. He'd been strong time ago, went into exile, got rusted, and is now trying to get back to form in a rush. He's impatient. But he carries "something" dangerous too… Which could go berserk anytime…"

"Yikes. Then we'd better stay away from the guy." Dekao gulped.

"Oh. Don't bother. If he's marked Guts Man as "boring" then he ain't coming back again." Netto shrugged.

"… Say… Looking at the images Roll has provided… Didn't we see this guy some years ago?" Meiru looked up from the screen.

"Yeah. It's the same guy, alright. But he got the fancy to pick up that name for himself. Dunno why. Not like we care." Saito dully confirmed.

"Ah. I see. Fine. But since he didn't get to totally beat Roll… He could be coming again?"

"Could be, true. Just combine speed with the Viruses and such and he'll run out of patience to try to develop a strategy. Guess he's just looking for battle data to gather and try to come up with some new strategy for his own non-cool hide." Netto added the last word with a hint of irony.

"Totally." Meiru shrugged.

"Man… Gotta do the homework… Huff… That's my home… See ya…"

Dekao split with them and the three continued until they stopped in front of Meiru's house: she sighed and formed a weak smile.

"… It's nothing. Just the stress… See you tomorrow."

She entered the house while the twins headed for theirs.

"So… Things have been quiet… I feel like they won't be for longer."

"Yeah, Saito – niisan… Something in the air makes me feel it…"

Both sighed and formed weak smiles as they glared at the skies…


	2. Chapter 2: Lobbying

**Chapter 2: Lobbying**

09:58 AM (Japan Time), Wednesday May the 4th…

"… Superintendent Oda, sir?"

"Meijin – kun? You look worried."

"There's a visitor who would like to speak with you, sir."

"Did they say who they were?"

"Here's the visiting card…"

"… Hum. I see. Hence that defeated face… Fine. Show them in."

"Roger, sir."

"I'll prepare a recorder just in case. You never know."

"Good."

Superintendent Oda had been working on something within his office using his computer when Meijin knocked at the door and gave him a visiting card: he looked at it and seemed to get slightly annoyed by the contents: he then looked up at Meijin, who nodded, as he opened a drawer and drew his Samsung Galaxy Mini 2 smart-phone: he turned on the voice recorder and then closed the drawer: someone knocked on the door.

"Come in."

"Good morning. I apologize for my sudden visit."

"It matters not. Have a seat."

"Thank you very much."

A man on his late 20s or early 30s came in: he had short brownish hair which was neatly combed and brown eye irises: he also was clean shaven.

He wore a simple gray suit with a red tie, gray pants and brown shoes.

"Ueda Mako. Crimson Lobby." He introduced himself.

_Crimson Lobby… I've read reports about them… They use the name "lobby" as misinformation… They don't represent anyone… They're a small group which uses influences there and there to get their hands in technological developments and loophole their patents to sell them to murky bidders: there are hints of them actually selling development to rogue nations or terrorists, even… What would they want here? The "Dimensional Converters"? "Cross Fusion"? Or else… The "Copy Roids"?_

Ueda sat down on the chair in front of the desk: he carried a brown leather case which he placed on his lap.

"If you shall allow me… I'll get to the point of my visit."

"Go ahead." Oda invited.

"Thank you. Well then… We were interested in knowing further details about one piece of technology…"

"Hum. And what would that be?" Oda calmly asked.

"It regards the organization known as "Shunoros"…"

"Hum. "Denpa – Henkan"?" He guessed.

"Correct."

"Sadly enough… We've never been able to analyze it. We never got to catch any of their members and get their PETs to be analyzed. So I can't help you there and the Science Labs can't either."

"Ah. I see." Ueda didn't seem surprised.

"I doubt them handing it over so easily, too."

"Is that so?" He lifted an eyebrow.

"Money won't convince them." He warned.

"What?" He gasped.

"It's their pride and honor."

"I s-see." He gulped.

"So I'd rather give up on it."

"… I see." He retained his composure but it was obvious that he was starting to get annoyed behind the façade.

"If that's all…"

"It is. I apologize for bothering you, sir. Good morning, sir."

Ueda stood up and politely bowed before walking out of the office: Oda shut off the recording app as Meijn came in glancing towards the corridor with slight surprise.

"He looks like he's about to vent out his anger into something."

"Hmpf. No wonder. They're so used to getting anything they want by money that they get annoyed when they can't get it. They're like spoiled children when you deny them their caprices." Oda shrugged.

"Should we do something?" Meijin asked.

"Hmmm… Tell Punk to pass a message to the Science Labs: reinforce security and screen all personnel. You never know: they might try to bribe someone to give them access to the "Dimensional Converters" instead: I'd rather say "Cross Fusion" wouldn't fit their style so I'm pretty sure they won't be targeting that. Maybe it would be wise to forward ALL "DC" data to Golden Star for safe-keeping." Oda rubbed his chin.

"OK. I'll warn 'em." Punk calmly announced.

"Before that…"

"What?"

"Uncle Merton's brilliant niece will propose to you." He made up a joke.

"Oh please." Meijin groaned.

"Who the heck pressed the "joker mode" switch?" Punk grumbled.

"Uncle Merton's ever-present-spirit."

"Sure, sure. I'm off." Punk fumed.

"Send greetings to the Harley Road Punks."

"There's no such gang." Meijin sighed.

"You never know, Meijin – kun, you never know."

"I'm off."

"If you see Obihiro – kun tell him to eat more spinaches!"

"Don't bring up _Popeye_ next…" Meijin sighed in defeat.

He came out as Oda chuckled and resumed his work with the computer: his phone beeped and he picked it up.

"Mail… Oho. From Uncle Moriarty's favorite nephew… "Got some good news for ya, _Danna_… The Radio Trio is about to begin broadcasting "Those who returned from There"… They'll soon upload it into the blog… Let's see who is worthy enough to come back from "There" though I think good ol' Ganondorf is on the list."… Heh, heh, heh. My. I'd rather say good old Uncle Smiles is on the list too."

He chuckled under his breath as he stood up and walked off the office to head into a corridor where some vending machines were placed at: four officers were having a chat there.

"…penalty, they called it? Oh come on! It shouldn't have been a penalty to begin with!"

"Well. It depends on everyone's POV…"

"I'd like to place a curse on the referee!"

"Man! Don't become so annoyed. It's just a sport!"

"Just you wait! The Hokkaido Mantises will make it to the Top 8!"

"Sure, sure."

"Hello there~! My dear folk!"

"Oh heck." They all uttered.

"Want to make a guess?"

"About what, sir?" They sighed.

"Who'll be coming back from "There"…"

"And where's "There"?" They rolled their eyes.

"Why. The Beyond."

"Not another comic-book…" They all groaned.

"Yessir. I think that Al Capone will be one of them."

"King Kong?"

"Dunno… Maybe the Godfather?"

"Well… Sauron?"

"Or maybe… Darth Vader?"

"Well! We'll soon hear of it, my folk. And there are times in which…"

"In which… What?" They asked.

"I feel my ancestor's warfare instincts stirring up in me~!" He tried to sound and look scary.

"Ah. We see."

They ran off before he could pull something else on them and Oda chuckled: he inserted two coins in the machine and bought a bottle of water which he unlocked: he drank some and sighed in relief.

"Heh, heh, heh. We'll soon see…"

He headed into another office where Obihiro was working with his laptop and left a piece of paper right to the laptop: Obihiro grumbled under his breath and rolled his eyes as Oda walked off and he read it up.

"What? "I bet Al Capone's coming back. Who's your bet, Obihiro – kun? By Uncle Merton's Number 1 Nephew." … Sheesh! Dunno! Liquid Ocelot? I'll write the first thing which comes to mind and shoo this away. Jeez!"

_When will he stop pulling jokes on the whole staff…? I'm totally fed up!_

11:11 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Au~! My claws are howling! I wanna rip somethin'!"

"Heh, heh, heh. _The Berserk Wolf's Strike_!"

"What the heck!"

"This is the title of the film I'm going to shoot right here and now!"

"Film? Then you're Video Man! Of the radio trio!"

"Yessir! V-B-N! On Air!"

"Do ya know who I am?"

"Leon's evil lil bro: Siegfried!"

"AKA… Venomous Wolf!"

"Let the wolves hit the moon!"

"Oh come on."

"How ironic, isn't it?"

"Whatever! Fight me!"

"Fine! You'll provide me with enough material… 3! 2! 1! _Action_!"

A Navi had been jumping across the platforms of the Reverse Internet and muttering aloud when someone began to speak to them from a distance: they began to exchange words and the second Navi landed in the ground.

"Alright! Camera! I'm Venomous Wolf!"

This guy's helmet's color was a shade of green which looked closer to blue: the helmet was already rather reminiscent of a wolf with two small ear-like extensions popping out from the top and aiming upwards in a 45º angle.

Just below those there were two small curved orange stripes which looked like pupils: the round plain ear-pads had two small teal brown-colored paws emerging from the left side of them and forming a shape.

This shape reminded one of a crab's pincers.

Two larger paws aimed backwards popping from the NW and NE edges:

The forehead also had a white metallic triangle which could be the jaw: transparent greenish shades covered the eyes.

His shoulders were plain with a small circling brown band where the forearms emerged and two large paws popping out of the outer edges while curving like a shark's fins.

The chest armor included the initials "VW" written in an orange color

Other details were the two small squares of that same orange color set on the SW and SE corners of the armor.

The forearms' armor (starting at around the elbow and past the exposed segment of arm covered by green "skin") was rather simple in design having just a small ramp aiming past the armor and emerging from close to the upper edge: they were colored green too while the hands also were covered in green "skin".

His boots were also simple in design: they just had a trapeze-shaped piece of armor set vertically over the knees and one small triangle-like piece close to the star of the toes which had two small openings: it looked like it could vent off heat building up inside of the boots: the soils were plain metallic gray.

He was over a meter and fifty tall, maybe closer to sixty, similar to Leon's own height.

"Heh, heh, heh. Director Video Man is going to prove that the video will live on forever! Even if the DVD and the Blu-Ray get in the way! _Lights! Camera! Action! Scene 2: Take 1!_"

Video Man, his opponent, had a black face and his irises were colored green.

He had a metallic structure set around and atop the head which included two dials on the sides of it and three connection ports colored yellow, white and red from left to right.

The Net Navi's body's main color was black but he had a round "play" symbol colored green set on the middle of the chest with two round buttons on both sides of it: a shape reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "V" was set above the "play" symbol plus a round circle drawn around on the base of his neck.

His shoulders were shaped like spheroids but were different: the left one was gray metallic while the right one was black with a red dome-shaped piece set atop it.

His arms' "skin" was black in color, too, but he had two parallel circular green stripes set slightly beneath the shoulder: his forearms were metallic and had some kind of tape set on them which interconnected with each other: his hands were colored black, too, and had no outstanding features on either of them.

The rest of his torso was colored black and it had another green-colored shape reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "V" set on it towards the spot where a person's stomach would be at.

His legs had four small "V" shape stripes set on a vertical row around the hips: four of them.

Another two circular stripes parallel to each other were placed around the knees and on the ankles: his feet were shaped like rectangles.

"Wind Cutter!"

"Cut Claws!"

Video Man formed a roll of video-tape which spun upon its axis to reel in further tape and grow in thickness and which he shot forward as Venomous Wolf jumped, drew his claws, and dived for Video Man: he smirked and changed the angle of the "Wind Cutter" so that the tapelines used to reel it in shot parallel to Venomous Wolf: the roll was pulled back and hit Venomous Wolf's back with a loud THUD sound: the inertia of the blow did propel him to the ground where he crashed face-down: Video Man pulled the reel back and it broke down into data to disappear: his chest now had the "record" symbol on it and it was flashing.

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Damn it! X Claws!"

"Fast Escape! Tapeline!"

Video Man suddenly warped further south (that is, away from Venomous Wolf) as some short stripes of tapeline began to form across the air and in the shape of crosses: Venomous Wolf cut through them but then gasped when he saw a Big Bomb Battle Chip thrown at him: it hit his forehead and the explosion propelled him backwards and to the ground where he landed in an unceremoniously manner, skidding across it: he groaned and he stood up while rubbing his rear legs' hips.

"Heck."

"Did you think I wasn't a seasoned fighter? I could take Blues on over two years ago and I did make him sweat!" He grinned.

"By all the… I underestimated the guy. I thought I did a mistake in December by picking Legato so I decided to pick ya but… Grah!"

"By the way! You wouldn't happen to have a cousin, right?"

"Cousin? Me? No! Why?"

"Pity."

"Why pity?"

"I wanted to cast the guy for my next film: _The Evil Cousin's Revenge_!"

"E-Evil Cousin's Revenge~?" His jaw hit the floor.

"Oho."

"What now!"

Video Man suddenly grinned and pressed the button on his chest which turned into the "play" symbol: he then held out the stripe of tape between his forearms.

"Playback!"

"What!"

"Playback! Playback! Playback! Playback! Playback!"

Light began to be emitted by the tape and it expanded: copies of Venomous Wolf's form began to form there and they expanded at a mad speed: they repeated his earlier attacks of jumping and diving (which he barely dodged by dashing past them) and the X-shaped strike (which he managed to block): he began to curse under his breath and run around while Video Man chuckled.

"How is it? Do you like my masterpieces?"

"T-this JERK!"

"Says the genius!"

"Wha~t?"

"Come! Lobezno's lil bro!"

"T-this JERK! Poison Claws!"

His claws' coloring changed to purple and he dashed towards Video Man to then jump and try to hit him but Video Man brought up his tape and the claws didn't get past it.

"It's made of a hi-grade rare metal! It won't break so easily, by Moran!"

"Nya~h! I wanna smash this guy!"

"Try harder, Oh Fallen Wolf Of The Jungles!"

"Che!"

"Che – chi – cho – chu – cha!"

"What!"

"My new version of the "la-li-lu-le-lo"!"

"Not again!" He grumbled.

"Guess your buddies are fond of it!" Video Man snickered.

"So you're Venomous Wolf, huh?"

"Who the…?"

"Name's Lily."

"The sniper gal's Navi?"

"Yeah."

"Ah! Miss Lily. Welcome to the party, my fellow conspirer."

"Tee, heh, heh. So cha are Sieg, eh? Guess ya gotta be more dynamic than Dullness – chan."

"Oh come on. Joanne – chan. Quit it with the nickname."

"My ears are singin'! Ya talkin' 'bout me?"

"Your aunt is gonna get annoyed AGAIN."

A girl Navi stepped into the scene from behind Video Man.

Lily was a Navi who had a _Goth_ look to her given her use of heels, two metallic loose bracelets in her forearms and a collar with spikes protruding from it around her neck.

Her helmet's forehead had the word "Goth" engraved on it using scarlet red letters and her eyes' irises were also scarlet red: her expression denoted annoyance.

The bodysuit's predominant color was black with some patches of white scattered like stains there and there.

She could be around a meter and sixty or closer to a seventy tall.

She currently looked both dull and exasperated.

"Tozukana Joanne, Golden Star's number one _femme fatale_ sniper showed up with the 5:55 PM express from Dublin!"

"Jeez. That express joke is running old."

"It's walking new! Nyah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"

"You really need some psychoanalysis."

The screen displaying the Operator showed her to be a girl on her late teens.

Her hair was tinted black even though some patches of brown hair could be seen beneath it and her eyes' irises were brown.

She looked smug and amused.

"Hmmm? My. We've got some extra audience… Behind there." Lily hushed to Video Man while glancing at an upper platform having a low stone wall around the edge.

"Oh?" He didn't glance there but seemed to be intrigued.

"Gotta be Barbatos…" She guessed.

"Heh! Let them look… They won't act." He shrugged.

"I knew that. Oh well… By the way, Venomous Wolf… Are you sure you won't get sued by Marvel Comics?" She asked of him.

"Che! Quit it with the Lobezno joke, mistress!" He complained.

"Oho." Tozukana looked amused.

"Don't get funny ideas." Lily coolly warned her.

"And what if?"

"I'll call your aunt."

"Not again!" She gasped.

"I can do more than this, damn them all! Elemental Cyclone~!"

"Oho."

Venomous Wolf formed a tornado made up of thousands of greenish leaves and moved towards Video Man: he got hit four or five times in a row but he withheld the blows and turned around.

"Wind Cutter!"

"Whack!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Predictable, by Moran!"

Venomous Wolf had tried to strike from behind but Video Man read his plan and hit him with the Wind Cutter: Venomous Wolf suddenly vanished in a cloud of smoke and a statue of the Pokémon "Guraena" appeared on his stead: ten _shuriken_ shot out in a row and hit Video Man one after the other: he groaned and collapsed on his knees while Venomous Wolf landed from higher in the air.

"Hah! I did well on carrying this Program Advance with me."

"A member of Shunoros, I take it?"

"Huh? Who?"

A Heel Navi colored black walked over to him and he turned, surprised, while frowning.

"Crimson Lobby. We'd like to talk about business."

"Crimson Lobby~? Huh… I think Gray mentioned you guys once or twice but he never went into details."

"Could you pass a message to your leader?"

"Why not…"

"How much would you want for the "Denpa - Henkan" schematics?"

"Huff. Give it up. The Prince is not gonna sell it. Ever."

"How can you be so sure of it?"

"It's HIS invention. He's not going to give up in exchange for money. He's above those." He sighed and rolled his eyes.

"That cannot be, sir." The Navi politely insisted.

"Well. I'll pass the message. If ya wanna the reply… Meet me in this same spot in 24 hours." He settled.

"Excellent. Tell him we will offer any amount he wishes."

The Navi rubbed his hands in excitement and ran off while Venomous Wolf looked somewhat puzzled.

"Get ready to be disappointed…" He muttered.

He vanished in the same manner End Angel had done the other day and then opened a communications screen to show that he had messy white hair like Leon's but his was way more uncared for: he did have a smug smile which displayed his mood.

"Well then… Tell _ani-ue-sama_ I send my greetings… Heh, heh, heh."

The screen shut down and Video Man grumbled as he pulled out the last of the _shuriken_ from his body: he fumed.

"I'm off. I'm going to be late for the broadcast. You can hear it live by tuning into our radio band, as usual."

"Yeah… I'm so gonna do that." Tozukana looked amused.

"Huff. I'm going to the deck." Lily rolled her eyes.

Video Man and she warped out of the spot while a figure rose from behind the rock wall: they wore an armor which looked like a European Medieval armor colored in a bluish tone: it had a facial protection which ended in a jagged end like it was teeth or a saw: the right side of it had a crack from where an eye with a purple iris looked out: they also carried a large simplistic sword.

"Barbatos has risen…" They muttered while using a voice distorter.

They failed to spot Net Navi Freeze Man looking down on the scene from higher up.

"Hum. So he's decided to reuse the armor. Beware, Barbatos. You don't want to end up like Darth Krayt." He snickered.

"Come! Weaklings! You will become this sword's preys!"

"I doubt it being the Master Sword. Heh, heh, heh. Let us pull back."

_Try to improve along the way, Barbatos… Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…_

11:37 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Ah…! Some fresh air. I like it."

"Yo."

"Joanne – chan. What are ya up to?"

"Nothin' yet!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Save…"

"For what?"

"For V-B-N."

"Heck. I'm off."

"Tee, heh, heh."

Lily had been standing in a deck somewhere which was very large and wide: some small buildings (two stories tall at the max) were placed across it and two gigantic retractable greenish steel covers hung in the air over the deck: both were open and some distance apart from each other.

"Beware of dry Mr. Tom!"

"Oh come on!"

Tozukana (wearing a black leather one-piece suit which covered her body starting slightly beneath the shoulders plus purple leather boots) had come into the deck while holding her PET (purple and black and having the Alphabet "L" character surrounded by a golden edge) on the right hand: Lily scowled and ran south while Tozukana laughed.

"Let's tune in!"

She plugged a pair of earphones to the PET and interacted with the menus before sitting in a corner while leaning against the handrails.

"… Welcome again to our radio broadcasts involving Master Francisco Ibañez's masterworks! _Mortadelo y Filemón_!"

"Tee, heh, heh."

"Video Man!"

"Shah, shah, shah! Needle Man!"

"_Marchando_! Burner Man!"

"V-B-N!"

"Today… "Those who came back from There"! Start!"

"… "Aha-hah! 12,000 volts 'ere… A laser beam over there… Two proton beams from behind and…!"… CLICK! * SQUEAKING * … BLOM! "Dear, what a blow! What a BLOW!"… Note: a mad scientist has managed to revive the infamous Count Dracula! He comes out of the casket only to hit his head with the low ceiling of the reviving machine! Purple-skinned fellow is our Count Dracula! Anyway! "Eureka! Perfect! I did it!" … "What, you got me to hit my head with the ceiling or what? You could've tried working as a stonecutter, son!"… "I revived you and you obey me now! Hah, hah! You're mine!"… "Huff! Like I'd become a 100 Z lighter!"… "You'll go to millionaire Jamonserránez's house, stir up terror and, 'long the way, bring his safe's contents! Move it!"…"

"Hah! This Dracula is funny. He ain't the typical one."

"So it'd seem, ma'am!"

"Yo! Shade Man! That gotta be your Transylvania cousin!"

"Could be, yes. Heh, heh, heh."

Shade Man, former "Darkloid", had walked into the deck while looking amused: he was seemingly tuning into the broadcast as well.

"… "AH! Look at his fangs! LOOK!"… "Well, ma'am, I don't see what you find odd 'bout 'em… I find 'em lackin'!"… Note: the man was hiding behind a newspaper and tusks like those of an elephant grow out his mouth!"

"Hah! That's a good joke!"

"Heh, heh, heh."

"… "Well! Here it is… Heh, heh, heh! I'll become a bat and come in through the window!"… "Doves, doves… Doves! ARGL!"… A nearby granny faints upon seeing the bat-form! "Aha! Let's go!"… "MEOW! MARRAW! PFFF!"… "IAK! IAK!"… "Micho! Stop attacking that lil bird!"…. * undecipherable curses * … I'll better come in through the door like everyone… There's only the gatekeeper but I'll scare her… I'm Count Dracula! UAH! OUA~H!"… "Well! Fella! What are cha doin'? I'm waking the floor, y'know? Wait a min, wait a min! I'll bring you an anise cup!"… "GRTJFX! I'm going to bite her neck and leave her with less blood than sandpaper!"… * BITE *! CRUNCH! … "Huff! This iron collar to fix the cervical lesions makes you feel hot!"… Meanwhile, on TIA HQ…"

"Heh! He didn't pass the Count Dracula exam!"

"So it'd seem." Shade Man rubbed his chin.

"… * snores *… "Mr. Mortadelo, Mr. Filemón! Emergency call! Come to Mr. Super's office ASAP!"… "Man! They're on a rush! I'll go down through the handrail, it's faster!"… "Hi, Boss! Did ya know? I'm taking out pieces of the handrail to pain them over and… BOSS!"…"

"Heh! So he slid down across the support beams of the handrail!"

"It had to be painful."

"… "But what's wrong? You're against painting? You prefer sculptures? You're a brute, Boss! A real brute!"… "Come in, come in and listen! We've got an ongoing sinister affair! Know this: using vile clone-genetic tech, some of the most know repulsive ones are back in the world of the living and wandering out there!"… "Huh! No big news man! Here you have an example, see!" …. "Stop acting the paranoid dromedary! The terrific Doctor Bacílez… (Derived from bacillus)… has readied a chemical-sulfuric-scorbutic complex… through which… he can create exact copies of evil fellows like Attila, Drake, Al Capone, Borgia, Ibañez… And can have them work for him and gain whatever he wants using their abilities! Right now, to begin with, agents spotted Count Dracula trying to sneak into millionaire Jamonserránez's apartment!"..."

"The very author is an "evil fellow"! What a self-joke!" She laughed.

"According to Legato, Superintendent Oda guessed Al Capone would be coming out." Shade Man chuckled.

"… "So you're gonna boycott his plans and destroy that horrific one! Do you have any knowledge of vampirism?" … "Plenty, Mr. Super! See, Boss there has been sucking my blood for 20 years already and…"…"

"Sucking his blood for 20 years!" She laughed.

"Mortadelo sometimes has grudges with his Boss."

"… "Well, man! Can't I make a single comment? You're moody today, man!"… "Here's the guy's house… How do we catch the vampire?"… "We'll set a trap and lure the guy with blood, Boss! You know vampires like blood!"… "Of course! And where do we get it? Do we need to go buy half a liter of plasma on the corner's pharmacy?"… "Oh! No need to, Boss! See? Done!" … He pierced the nose! … "When he smells it the guy will come like a fly to the coffee and… Man, Boss, like you wanted me to pierce my femoral and place a faucet there! Besides, if we fool around then the vampire will catch us with the pants down!"… "You're right. But I know how to fend off against vampires! Get a string of _ajos_ (garlic) and bring them!"… "Well, if you say so…" … "Heh, heh! Vampire fear more garlic than a businessman fears the treasury, so…" …. "Here you have, Boss! But I think it'd been better to get taller ones! He'll suck up these guys' blood in groups of seven and…!"… "AJOS! I said a string of _ajos_ (garlic), not _bajos_ (low guys)!" … "Ah! I thought so! But since you tend to ask for weirder things than a cannibal vegetarian…!"…"

"The Spanish puns descended!" Joanne laughed.

"Truly."

"… "Ah! Look! There's Dracula!"… "Quick! Throw this grenade! It's the only weapon I have!"… "H-how do I do it, Boss? How?" … "Pull out the ring, count to 10, and throw it!"… "Easy! Pull out the ring… 1, 2, 3, 4, 5… 6, 7, 8, 9, 10… THERE GOES!" …. "W-what did you do you bald moron? You threw the ring!"… "Of course, Boss! Didn't you say that…?"… *BOOM *!"

"No way! He interpreted "throw" as "throw the ring"! Hah, hah, hah!"

"Really… He lacked the slightest of intelligence!"

"… "But, Boss, you told me to pull out the ring and throw it and… Go and get a gladiolus on your navel!"… "Yes, sir, a train ticket to Transylvania… No, no, no need for bunk bed… I bring my own bed!"… Dracula lost his teeth and ended up picking a train ticket back home while carrying his own casket! End of Chapter 1! Preview of Chapter 2: Francis Drake's Revenge! Off Air! V!"

"B!"

"N!"

"Disband!"

"Heh! So Francis Drake, the pirate!"

"Hmmm… That was only on the eyes of the Spanish… For the King Land citizens, he was regarded as a hero… Wikipedia calls him "sea captain, privateer, navigator, slaver and politician of the Elizabethan era."… He carried out the 2nd circumnavigation of the world… Lived in the 16th century… But he wasn't free of some controversies…" Shade Man checked a holographic screen.

"Oh well. But he's not going to dig into those. He's just going to come up with a parody." Tozukana sat up and shook some dust off the suit while shrugging her shoulders.

"True." Shade Man shrugged as well.

"Oh well. I'm gonna go compete with Leiter, Felix Leiter." She grinned.

She walked off while giggling and Shade Man shrugged as he looked out at the ocean.

"… Two years already… I've been back for two years… And I don't resent the destruction of the "Darkloids"… I've been reborn into someone new, different… And we're doing a large task to try to help society fend off against "evil"…" He muttered.

_Why don't we do go to have a look at someone else? Heh, heh, heh…_

23:07 PM (Indiana Time), Tuesday May the 3rd…

"… But, really… Tomahawk Man. Do ya really need to go through that medical check thing?"

"Better to prevent than to heal, Dingo."

"Huff. If you say so."

"Hey. It's nothing. They just do a standard scan and that's all: not like YOU have to undergo it."

"I know, but… I wanted to go patrol!"

"Patrol your own garden."

"My own garden? Where's that?"

"In your imagination, Dingo."

"E~H?"

"Jeez. You don't catch sarcasm or what?"

Tomahawk Man walked down a corridor in the Ameroupe Army base while talking with his Operator, Dingo: neither of them seemed to have changed too much along the years.

"Tomahawk – kun! You're next!"

"I'm comin', Meddy…"

Tomahawk Man stepped into a small lab where Meddy was waiting at next to a cavity in the wall which had a screen display placed over it and which was able to slide down a couple rails to then scan the Navi.

"By the way, Dingo. Beware of needles."

"What needles?"

"The ones Jackson and the others go on sneaking around…"

"Really? I didn't notice."

"Guess Totem – sama is to blame."

"HUH?" He looked perplexed.

"Jeez." Tomahawk Man rolled his eyes.

"There: step in and the scan will start. It won't take 3 minutes even."

"OK."

Tomahawk Man calmly stepped in the cavity and Meddy lowered the scanner to begin the examination: they failed to spot a group of reddish bats hiding higher in the ceiling in a shady corner.

"…33% complete… Nothing odd insofar…"

"Hey! Dingo! _Dude_!"

"Smithson? What now?"

"Wanna _this_?"

"… No. And hide it before someone reports you."

"This is _good stuff_, _boy_!"

"I'm about to call Big Boss. One, two…"

"UWA~H!"

"Jeez. Who the heck began to spread them here?"

"Temptation which comes with peace…" Tomahawk Man muttered.

"I know. Jeez." Meddy fumed.

"Guess someone invented a Navi version."

"Yeah. And it causes glitches in their processors which I gotta study for hours on end to find out how to fix them. They need a hit in the head with a hammer to straighten them out." She complained.

"Speaking of Big Boss, Colonel went off 5 days ago and hasn't returned yet… You're not telling me he's trying to pick a quarrel with Golden Star's top Navi, Slur, again, right?" Dingo asked.

"Knowing Big Boss…" Tomahawk Man rolled his eyes.

"Or maybe he's gone to try to beat Barbatos?"

"The man in armor?" Meddy asked.

"Yeah. The man in armor… And someone Colonel has a grudge with…"

"… Ah. I see."

"Yeah. The guy was too bold and rushed it and it soon became clear enough who he really was."

"87% complete…" Meddy announced.

"You guys! What's with those things?"

"Commander Bluefield…" Dingo looked to the left.

"N-nothing, sir!"

"Nothing my ass!" Bluefield roared.

Uncomfortable silence built up on the real world and Dingo closed the door of the room which he was at.

"Man. I knew it was a matter of time before they got found out: now there'll be scolding from the higher-ups too…" Dingo sighed in defeat and rolled his eyes.

"Scan complete. All green."

"OK."

"I expect you to SMILE! Mr. Smiles." Someone laughed outside of the lab room.

"More _Gold-finger_ parodies?" Meddy sighed.

"I'm surprised no-one has tried to ask you for a date." Tomahawk Man commented.

"They're in their world. And they get mobilized to solve trouble there and there from time to time too." She shrugged.

"Ah. True, true."

"Hi there! Welcome to Evil Satellite's Show!" Someone announced through speakers.

"Who's that?" Dingo wondered.

"Dunno. First-timer. Maybe a rookie."

"More like a neophyte." The voice laughed.

"Neo-what?"

"Neophyte. It's an old-fashioned way of saying "novice"."

"Novice, me?" Dingo grumbled.

"Yessir. Novice compared to Evil Pepe."

"Evil Pepe? Who's that?"

"The guy who'll rule the USM."

"USM?"

"United States of Mexico."

"No way." Dingo looked totally skeptical by now.

"In fact… The Constitution of Mexico names the territories "USM" but they didn't want to rival with USA so they don't use it."

"No wonder." Tomahawk Man sighed.

"No wonder, oh wondering wonderer of wonders."

"What's with that silly rhyme?"

"It's fashion. I expect you to tomahawk, Mr. Tomahawk!" The voice kept on joking next.

"Hah, hah. How original of you, Mr. Smith."

"Mr. Satellite."

"Mr. Satellite?"

"Yessir. Wanna satellite?"

"No. I'd rather pass."

"Wanna visit AltoMare?"

"Where's that? In Italy?" Dingo asked.

"… It's a fictional location inspired in Venice which is the setting of _Pocket Monsters Movie 05: Guardian Deities of the Water Capital, Latias & Latios_… This guy is a PKMN fan."

"But that doesn't help much, man. There are MILLIONS out there."

"I know."

"You knew Johnson was going to introduce you to marijuana?"

"You don't kid with that stuff."

"I'd rather adult with that stuff."

"Oh come on. Now it's a literal pun?" Tomahawk Man was getting fed up.

"Yo! Mistress! What's your style?"

"None of your business!" Meddy snapped with some annoyance.

"Oho. Scary, scary. Ya gotta be the CO style."

"And what if!"

"Dunno."

"T-this PERVERT!" She got further annoyed.

"Volcano Girl!"

"NYA~H!"

"Nyarth! We won't give up on Pikachuu, nya!"

"What the heck?" Dingo wondered.

"Dunno."

"Are ya gonna tune in to see BW077 this week? Or are ya gonna wait 'till Mr. Wrecks-It-All forwards it to the devilish metal box?"

"Devilish metal box? The TV?" Dingo looked baffled.

"… If we were asked "something"… We will answer for the sake of tomorrow! Future! A white future reflects the color of evil! Universe! The hammer of justice in a black world! We will inscribe our names within this land! Destroyer of passion, Musashi! Pure heart of obscurity, Kojirou! Infinite intelligence, Nyarth! Come gather! Under the name of Rocket Gang!" The voice began to chant.

"What the heck? Sounds different to what I remembered?"

"No wonder. It's gotta be the original Japanese one."

"Man. They always make them sound cooler."

"Blame the dubbing companies."

"I know, I know… Anyway… Who are ya?"

"Your worst nightmare: the reviewer!"

"Oh come on."

"Behold! Gate Man's backdoor!"

"Gate Man? I seem to remember there were some fellows sharing name and form there and there and who could open doors into different spots of the Cyber World…" Tomahawk Man recalled.

"Ready… Go! March out! Through the backdoor! The PERFECT escape route: did ya know why? 'Cause everyone forgets 'bout it! Including the Sweden cops! Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!" The voice began to chuckle at their own joke.

"How devious of cha." Meddy snapped at the guy.

"Bye-bye~!"

The speakers finally died and the bats flew away while Tomahawk Man rolled his eyes, Dingo looked like he didn't get anything and Meddy was pretty much annoyed.

_This base is going crazy, too… Someone save our sanity, man!_


	3. Chapter 3: Raging and maddening

**Chapter 3: Raging and maddening**

16:26 PM (Japan Time), Friday May the 6th…

"… Shah, shah, shah! Who's out there? Show your hides!"

"Heh! Ya noticed my stalking, eh, Needle Man? Burner Man gotta have talked 'bout me… His greatest raging rival!"

"Shah, shah, shah… Shunoros… Raging Flame!"

"Yessir! Burn!"

"Heh! Bring it on!"

"As you wish!"

One Net Navi had been patrolling the Reverse Internet (close to the surface as evidenced by some Navis gathering there and there and chatting in hushed voices) when he seemingly noticed he was being followed given how he looked around.

"Shah, shah, shah! Needle Man of the Radio Trio! Yessir! I won't lose so easily!"

Needle Man's upper body was shaped like a circle with a dome over it: the color of his choice was navy blue: the front part of the circle had a rectangular vertical cavity cut out with eight slightly curved metallic pieces set in a vertical row.

His face's skin was black, too, he had no nose, his eyes colored yellow with red irises and a smug smile was drawn on his face: a small red vertical rectangle was set on the forehead.

Four needles came out of the dome part of the body (and having an orange circular edge circling the spot from where they sprouted out from) around the head which was drawn inside of a larger needle.

His arms were human-like given how they were attached to the body: orange-colored bands split it in two halves with the upper half being colored navy blue and the lower half tinted sky blue: a needle came out of each shoulder, too: four blackish long fingers were set on the arms.

The armor ended below the torso: the rest of his body's skin was plain black in color plus a small orange spot below the upper body.

The boots began over the knees and followed the same pattern as in the arms: a needle came out from the armor over each knee: they had a small hollow cavity cut close to the heel.

"Heh, heh, heh… Burn 'em all! Ragin' Flame!"

Raging Flame landed in front of Needle Man.

He had a helmet on which only protected the front and sides of his head given how his hair freely flew out from behind him: transparent red shades covered his eyes which had brown irises.

The helmet's forehead included a large metallic horn and two yellow shapes near the outer edges shaped like the Alphabet "M" character which were glowing with a brightness-changing yellowish light: one moment it glowed strongly the other it glowed in a faint manner.

There was a metallic edge running across the forehead and along the length of the sides together with the ear-pads which had the drawing of the "honoo" or "Flame" _kanji_ in orange color against a black background.

His chest armor appeared to be pretty thick stuff and had four diagonal-oriented grayish diamonds built into it: the Alphabet letters "RF" colored yellow had been drawn on the center.

The shoulder armor was thick as well: there was a round yellowish band circling the shoulder joint and from there reddish armor extended to protect the whole shoulder: it ended with three short metallic claws set on the edge of a valley-like opening.

There was a bit of exposed arm covered by black "skin" before the forearms' armor (starting at the elbows) began: the forearms' armor started with a circle protecting the elbow and a metallic diamond-shaped piece set over the upper edge of it while aiming upwards.

The rest of the forearm and hand were protected by a layer of armor in the form of a cylinder's upper half with two brownish plates set over it.

It also had a small brownish dot on the left side of the armor which looked like decoration.

A small crevice split the set into two parts: the aforementioned part and a more simplistic running across the reverse of the forearm and wrist: his hands were covered in black "skin" as well.

Regarding the rest of his upper body and legs, it was enough to say that they were covered in black "skin" and that some brownish diamonds were set in a column running down the sides of the body until where the large boots began, at around the knees.

The boots were thick and big as well and they began at the knee: a metallic hexagon was set on the upper edge and its upper half served as additional protection for the legs: their dominant color was, of course, a fierce bright red color.

Another two hexagons were set stacked below the upper edge along with two small diamonds extending from the second hexagon's SW and SE corners.

A thin black line travelled from the ankle to the start of the fingers before drawing an arch and forming a small black cavity from which a metallic triangle emerged and pointed northwards: there was another one large in size and colored in a dull orange color immediately below and the rest of the boots were the double-thickness soils formed by two large curved-edged triangles.

He was about End Angel's height and age as well.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…. Needle Man! I know your greatest weakness! That is… Flame! I won't screw it up like I did with Freeze Man a year ago!" He announced.

"Che. I still dunno why the _Danna_ wanted me to be Wood-Elemental."

"'Cause you look like thorns, see…"

"Shah, shah, shah! Bring it on, you artificial colors in a cheap drugstore candy bar!" Needle Man challenged.

"Heh! Greetings from yer cousin, Roserade!"

"Don't mix me with PKMN, man."

"Oi. Look. Isn't that…?" One of the Navis close by hushed.

"Devil. Needle Man: Golden Star!"

"And that other guy… Shunoros…!"

"Heck. This is gonna be a tough battle."

"Depends if they use their field bonus or not…"

"OK! Here I go! _Daimonji_!"

"Huh! Barrier!"

Raging Flame built up a mass of flames on his right forearm weapon and shot it at Needle Man: it impacted a Barrier Battle Chip and was nullified as it formed the _kanji_ "dai" or "great": Raging Flame snickered and looked up to something.

"Magma Line!"

A line of Magma Panels formed across the ground and was accompanied by another two some distance apart from the first one and running parallel to them: Needle Man gasped upon seeing how he had little space to maneuver and one fake step would deliver heavy damage.

"Heck."

"It's a Living Hell!" Raging Flame laughed.

"Needle Cannon! Messy Shooting!"

"Whack! Shit! Caught me with the pants down…!"

Needle Man suddenly formed two cannon muzzles on his wrists after removing his hands and bombarded Raging Flame with several short white cone-shaped needles: they landed at random around his body and he instinctively shielded himself with the arms: he grumbled and looked annoyed.

"No more Mr. Nice! Salamander!"

"Devil! Huh…! Dream Aura 1!"

Needle Man formed a Dream Aura as Raging Flame dived towards him and crashed into the floor: the shockwave ignited the Magma Panels and deleted them while Needle Man wasn't harmed by that: Raging Flame took steps backwards and fumed.

"Heck."

"Heh! Needle Cannon! Messy Shooting! Needle Attack!"

"Grah! Gruh! Gua~rgh!"

Needle Man bombarded him again as his body's needles grew in length: he jumped into the air and dived for Raging Flame: he began to attack him by thrusting forward several times and forming wounds on his body: he got engrossed and didn't spot the guy charging up energy on his right forearm's weapon.

"OVERHEAT!"

"Sha~hnya~h!"

The brutal blast of concentrated flames hit Needle Man's torso and he stopped his attack: Raging Flame ducked and used his feet to kick Needle Man away before jumping into the air and roaring: he was surrounded by a crimson-colored Salamander and cracks opened into the ground which began to expel geysers of magma: Needle Man gasped.

"My newest Ultimate Move!"

"Ultimate Move!" Needle Man gasped.

"INFERNO~!" He roared.

The magma from the geysers flew towards Raging Flame's mass of flames and it turned into a spheroid of raw magma: it suddenly shot towards the ground and caused an explosion so bright that all spectators had to shield their eyes: Needle Man's yell of agony rang out followed by insane laughter of Raging Flame…

17:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"…me… man… can… hear… needle…?"

"… Ugh… Kruh… W-where…?"

"… Can you hear me? Needle Man?"

"Ugrh! Grah… Ugh! All aches and burns…!"

"Needle Man! Ah! Thank goodness! You awakened!"

"Fuck… What the hell happened…? Andy?"

"Cool it down."

Needle Man began to sluggishly wake up and realized he was placed inside of a cylinder-shaped capsule with a front glass cover and it was set in 45º angle: a Navi was standing outside of it and looking at him.

"I lost, right…?"

"Well… Yeah. Sorry."

Andy, the Navi outside, was about standard height, that is, over a meter and sixty, maybe closer to seventy.

His eyes' irises were a mix of red and golden and he looked concerned.

Some silver-colored hair could be seen emerging from beneath his helmet as well.

His whole body with the exception of his forearms and boots was painted in a bright silver color.

The boots and forearms, however, had been tinted in a slightly rusted bronze color.

A bronze-colored thin vertical stripe ran across his body from the neck to the end of the crotch crossing over his silver-edged chest emblem (which contained a five-pointed golden star set against a black background inside of a silver circle).

"Fuck… How dire was it?"

"You were lucky to have "Under Shirt" in your Navi Customizer. You ended up at 1 HP and with grave wounds. Zero had been monitoring the whole deal and went to pick you. I just came over and I got told what happened: he had something else to handle so I've keeping an eye on you." Andy explained with a sigh.

"Fuck. We underestimated those guys…!"

"Yeah. Totally. It'd seem the guy's gotten obsessed with overcoming Burner Man when it comes to power…"

"Ugh. So I'm out of action for some days?"

"Two at the very least, according to Slur – sama's diagnosis…"

"Fine… At least we got to record the next chapter yesterday so…"

"Oh yeah. I'll play it here: maybe it'll help improve your mood…"

"Yeah… Go ahead… Is Kage there?"

"Yo. Needle Man. Cheer up. Next time pump LSD into the jerk. Kage Miquel tells ya that'll do wonders."

"Heh… And have the jerk beat his hide, eh…?"

Andy's Operator screen opened: Kage Miquel surely was about Netto and the others' age.

He had neatly combed blond hair along with soft facial features.

He sported black bandana with Andy's emblem drawn on the center of it: he also had sunglasses on.

"OK! Play the playing of players!" Kage snickered.

"Jeez. Miquel – kun. That rhyme's too long." Andy rolled his eyes and seemed to be fed up with it.

"Did ya say somethin', Mr. Anderson?"

"That joke's outdated."

"It's renewed."

"Loopholes." He grumbled.

"… V-B-N! Today… "Francis Drake Chapter!" … A red normal car begins to chase a blue Mercedes! "Galion to portside! Ready hooks! Get ready for the boarding!"… The red car driver shoots out an extensible hook which grips the left door! The Mercedes is pulled leftwards and runs glued to the red car! "H-hey there! Are you mad? What…?"…. "Hah, hah, hah! You've fallen for Francis Drake's tactics! Eat skull-shaking Galapagos gift!"… He stuns the driver with a small turtle and sets up a plank going out through the right window! "And, now, walk across the plank, you brute!"… The man falls into an open manhole!"

"Heh! What a _stunning_ start!" Kage made up a pun.

"Yeah, yeah." Andy was unimpressed.

"Kush, kush… Let us try to be positive…" Dark Man landed from above next to Andy.

"Huh. Dark Man. Been a while…"

"Yes, indeed… Well, Needle Man, my fellow… Your debut is coming?"

"Heh! Sure!"

"… "Quick! I got a bug in the eye! Blow a bit to see if… AG! Not so strong, you brute!"… Shah, shah, shah! Mortadelo blew so strong that Filemón's right eye was blown off! "Calling M & F! Here's Mr. Super! Come to my office to get briefed ASAP!"… "Here we are! Set up the Order of Telegram-sian, it'll be faster than the Carthusian Order! Whoa! Man! You're more anti-clerical than a base woodworm!"… Well. We're not really sure of the joke here… The Carthusian is a very austere Catholic order… Maybe the joke is that he suggests being austere or something like that… "I've called you because one of our agents saw a pirate on a car and…!"… "But, Boss… Didn't you say yours was in the workshop?"…"

"Man. First calling him vampire, now pirate…" Andy rolled his eyes.

"Looks like a miracle that they still keep on working together."

"Heh! Sure thin'!" Needle Man grinned.

"… "Well! Why don't you quit throwing stuff at me? Huh? You throw more stuff than a political party in revelry!" … "It's Francis Drake! It's gotta be another guy recreated by Doctor Bacílez! He attacked the millionaire Tiraderolls and took all, including the Lola Flores cassette tapes! The guy's eager to assault anyone and anything, see! They've seen the guy in the Pharaoh Raf Street so go there, beat the guy and get the booty back!"…. "We're going to get the shoes back as well, Mr. Super!"… "Corvette spotted! Ready for boarding! Heh, heh, heh! I'm so skilled at capturing corvettes, really!"… He picks a short fellow by the necktie...! "Yes, Mr. Policeman! A weird fellow! He took my case full of bank notes and then said he was going to hang me from the mainmast!"… He hung him from a street light using his own necktie! "Ah! New booty spotted! Open all sails! Pull up the mainsail! Aha! The "mainsail" is up! Heh, heh! Collar: windward!"… "Getrudis! I~h!"… He sticks up a stick with some rope to pull up a lady by the right foot and steal the pearl collar!"

"That guy…" Andy rolled his eyes.

"He does keep his sailor dialect from Portsmouth." Dark Man made up a joke.

"Shah, shah, shah! Sure thin'!"

"… _Marchando_! "Devil! Reef to bow!"… "BAR REEF"… I~H! CRASH! CLANG! CRONCH! "This bloody rascal! Makes a wreck of the bar and then begins saying "cachalot on the starboard side!"… GRTFX!"…. "The core of the armada chases me! I gotta scram, by the waves!" … "There's the guy! Let's chase the guy and make a plan to catch him!"… "I know, Boss! You come close, shake the hand as if it was a pal, and I hit him!"… "Good! Hey, dude~! Don't remember me? I'm Red-beard! I happened to have a shaving today! Heh, heh! Let's shake, man! OUA~H! "Shake the hand"… Grmblfjxh…! It's a pirate! He uses a HOOK, not a hand!"… "Dear! Your hand's pierced like my cousin the spendthrift!"…"

"Jeez. You guys continue. I prefer going to have some air at the desk."

"Sure. Tell Ms. Seagull she's gonna be my evening meal."

"Oh come on."

Andy warped out of the Cyber World and Dark Man shrugged while Needle Man made a weak chuckle.

"… "Well, Boss, you can use that until they heal it on the hospital, no? I've got another idea! I attack the guy and paralyze him from my bite while you hit the skull!"… "OK!"… M disguises as a dog and rushes away as F takes out the pencil M had put on his hole and wraps it on bandages!"… "ARGN! AING, AING; AING! I failed again, Boss… Should've expected it… The guy has a wooden leg! But his only weapon is a cutlass! Hah, hah! He'll get to know about Mortadelo, king of floret! That old pirate mustn't know anything 'bout modern fencing! Heh, heh! I'll give him a demo! Get ready, you ruffian! I'm going to pierce you all including the pylorus! Hah, hah, hah! He picks the cutlass by the end spot! Like I thought: no idea of modern fencing and…!"… PLONC! "S-see, Boss? Like I said: no idea of modern fencing!"… He hit him with the cutlass' handle!"

"How innovative." Dark Man joked.

"Sure thin'… Shah, shah, shah…!"

"…. "But a guy here has another plan apart from the Saturday nights' one! You see? Heh, heh! The sound of his wooden leg gives him away! So we gotta wait on the other corner and when we hear his steps… Hah! We go for a surprise attack, with decision and club! Get ready! He's coming!"… A brute-looking policeman is walking down the street while hitting the wall with his cudgel! "I'm so pissed off today… I wanna find some thief to him 'im with the cudgel!"… "Gotcha, you bloody filibuster!"… "Take boarding! Take potage! Take forage! Take this, this AND THIS!" … PAF! POF! TOMB! BLAF! PLOC! "Po-p-policeman…!"… "G-g-good morning… Heh, heh… Are you alright?"… "I'd say the guy's a brute, Boss… Dear! What a beating with the cudgel!"… "Yeah, and the guy's aiming is terrific… He hit me in the midst of the head!"… "Boss! The muse blew into me! I've got an idea to dispatch that Drake rascal! You know pirates love boarding galleons, galleys, plane carriers and all which rides on the sea, right? Well, let's set up bait! A small wooden boat filled with Gum-2! OK! Let's set it there: when Drake sees it and jumps inside… Boom! The jump will be frightening!"… "Stop there!"… "Ah! A drifting Portuguese galleon!"…"

"The climax is approaching!" Dark Man guessed.

"Sure thin', man!" Needle Man chuckled.

"… "Parking vehicles in a forbidden spot, huh? This is gonna bring a fine which will make you blow sky-high!"… "No! No! No~!"… "Boarding time~! Get out, you crappy filibusters! I was first!"… BOOM!"

"The brute policeman threw them into the boat when FD boarded it!"

"… "The Invincible Armada strikes! Ready for counterstrike! Helmsman, to starboard! Ready torpedoes 6 & 7! Lift the periscope~!"… "Man! There's no living here! I'm off to another asteroid in the 5th galaxy!"… "I'm going to give you "muse blow"… I'm going to you "frightening jump"… I'm so gonna give you~!"… "You don't even know how to intone the "Bb" in whistle concert, Boss! Go cleanse the English Channel with a scourer!"… "… * undecipherable curses * …"… End! Next! Caesar Borgia chapter! The group ended up in a small planetoid and began to run across its surface while the local alien decided to go away! V!"

"_Burning fella~_! B!"

"Shah, shah, shah! N!"

"Off Air!"

"Heh! Can't say it wasn't funny." Kage chuckled.

"I expect ya to My Kel, Miquel!" Needle Man made up a pun.

"Not bad. By the way, I called for someone's help to have a check and make sure there's no weird data in you which any of the "audience" might've thrown at you. You never know… Hacker – sama~!"

"Kage – kun! Quit it with the nickname already."

A black and white Normal Navi stepped into the area and began to interact with a holographic screen while an Operator screen opened and displayed Obihiro Shun's face: he hadn't changed much over the years either.

"So? Are you gonna tell us who number 649 is?"

"Well…" He trailed off.

"Aha-hah. Guilty as charged! Ya know it!"

"W-well…"

"Mewtwo's Isshu Cousin?" Kage joked.

"No." He drily corrected with a hint of annoyance.

"Armageddon itself?"

"No~…" He was getting annoyed.

"Well. I take off my hat in front of you, Hacker – sama."

"… Switch to a private channel." Obihiro settled.

His screen shut down and so did Kage's while they seemingly continued their chat in a private manner: Needle Man formed a weak smile and opened a screen to access YouTube.

"I'm off to preparing Obscure Coffee with a hint of heat." Dark Man made a gallant bow.

"Coffee 'em all!"

"Delighted."

He chuckled and hovered upwards before exiting the Cyber World: the Normal Navi began a scan of Needle Man in the meanwhile.

"There doesn't seem to be any usual Reverse Internet stuff." He announced.

"Fine… I'm gonna watch some play-troughs…"

"… O~h! How deviously brilliant! And the guy will surely be the protagonist of Movie 16, coming out next year! I guess I've been pretty much disconnected if I didn't hear news of that… Well. Guess we're not allowed to publically say its name until the official reveal by CoroCoro." Kage opened his screen again.

"Yeah. Satisfied already? Well then. Let me tend to Needle Man."

18:18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hum. So you're the famed Search Man…"

"And you're Shadow Man. I've heard plenty of chit-chat about you."

"No wonder… Anyway… I saw that battle… That Raging Flame did something to power-up by leaps and bounds and without needing that damned "Boundary" thing…"

"Worrisome. We're going to be in a tight spot again. As if that End Angel guy being obsessed with coming to beat us wasn't enough…"

"Laika – sama. It would be best not to try to act outside orders."

"Not like I was doing that, Search Man! Uncle did tell me to meet Shadow Man and try to get news about Shunoros. Now it'd seem that THE Crimson Lobby is involved as well."

Shadow Man and Search Man were having a chat in one street of Internet City close to a large avenue: Laika had his Operator screen opened and looked annoyed and resigned.

"And, Laika – sama…"

"I know. That hypothesis of mine has so much evidence rebutting it that it's not worth telling anyone." He sighed.

"Hypothesis?"

"Not worth your time. Really." He looked away.

"Guess that. By the way… What will you do with the "Copy Roid" schematics?" Shadow Man asked.

"You should ask that to Blues. I dunno what the Science Labs do."

"My bad."

"But I guess that they forwarded the data to Golden Star for safe-keeping in case those Crimson Lobby guys tried to steal those."

"Ah. Obviously. I should've thought of that."

"Shadow Man." A voice called out through his radio.

"My Master."

"Did you mention the Crimson Lobby?"

"Indeed. They want Shunoros' technology." He confirmed.

"Hum. They won't have it easy."

"That's why we were discussing if the Science Labs sent all other technology data to Golden Star for safekeeping."

"I remember that their leader is named Maeda Osoroda… I think the man was on his 50s…" Dark Miyabi muttered.

"We've heard of him in Sharo as well. His envoys tried to buy our "Boost Programs" but we told them that the state's technology was not for sale: that was 2 years ago." Laika admitted.

"Hum. They must be the spoiled types who think they can get anything they want."

"And, after that, some figures in the Kremlin tried to loophole military laws and sell some of them but we caught them red-handed…"

"But the same won't happen with Shunoros. None of their members will accept bribes and since it's a stand-alone organization, it doesn't depend on others and they can't pressure them."

"True, My Master."

"Hi there~! Uncle Moriarty's favorite nephew tells you THIS: little blessed, despicable and repulsive MICE will MINCE-MEAT YOU!"

"Eisei Aaron." Laika muttered.

"Gray Thunderbolt… The leader's right-hand man…"

"I heard from Tomahawk Man. This guy was broadcasting jokes into their base the other day…" Shadow Man grumbled.

"How foolish." Dark Miyabi dully muttered.

"Beware! Uncle Jefferson wants you for his CLUB! The MADNESS CLUB!"

"Madness club?" A pedestrian wondered.

"It's a troll, man." Another shrugged.

"Bad boys will be bad boys." A female Navi shrugged next.

"By Wesker! The Wesker Nose is loose!" Eisei laughed.

"What's that?" Yet another Normal Navi wondered.

"Don't mind it, man. It's a troll." Someone shrugged.

"As in _Harry Potter_?" The Navi gasped.

"Of course not! I mean a prankster, man."

"Plankster?" He seemed to have misheard it.

"No~! Prankster! Joker!" The pedestrian corrected.

"_Batman_'s Joker?" The Navi tried to ask.

"I'm off."

"O-oi! Wait! It was a joke, fella! Don't get so annoyed!"

"Huff." Search Man and Shadow Man sighed.

"I expect you to Search, Mr. Search Man! I expect you to Shadow, Mr. Shadow Man!" Eisei suddenly announced.

"Lovely. He knows we're here."

"Maybe he's close by."

"Whatever. Let's go, Shadow Man."

"Roger, My Master."

"Come back, Search Man. Forget Eisei and his antiques."

"Yes, sir… Plug Out."

_Heh, heh, heh… If ya think this would be dull… I'll make it funnier! Hah!_


	4. Chapter 4: Imagine something

**Chapter 4: Imagine something**

10:03 AM (Japan Time), Sunday May the 8th…

"… Fua~h… I needed a good night's rest. Didn't you, Akemi?"

"Sure, Martha – chan… Yesterday was stressing."

"Yeah. Someone tried to boycott me by hiding my make-up case but I found it nevertheless and made it in time to fix the news presenter's appearance before the 7 PM news."

"Who could've it been, anyway?"

"Aminda."

"Aminda Sara?"

"The same gal."

"She's the jealous and self-centered type, huh?"

"No doubt. But Suzuki Martha tells you I won't lose to her."

A girl and her Navi partner came out of a room into a metallic corridor having several armored doors with keypads and interphones next to them set in the walls.

The girl, Suzuki Martha, appealed to be in her late teens and had long brown hair reaching past her shoulders and up until the waist: her eyes' irises were brown too and she had a good profile.

She wore a simple white sleeveless t-shirt with the Empire State drawn into it, jeans and white socks plus a pair of white sneakers.

She also sported the arm-strap for a Link PET colored teal brown and yellow and having the Alphabet "A" character colored golden and set inside of a brownish-edged circle as emblem.

"Let's get to the Obscure and Burning Cafeteria."

"The nickname's gotten popular."

"No wonder."

Akemi, her Navi partner, appealed as being around a meter and seventy tall: her main body color was teal brown accompanied by greenish irregular stains across her bodysuit.

Her helmet had the drawing of a flower on the forehead and her eyes' irises were green emerald: her face was smooth and slightly attractive when seen from a profile.

Her forearms and boots had three consecutive greenish rings drawn across them: each ring had some small yellowish stains scattered inside of them at random.

Some greenish hair flowed out from behind her helmet and reached until the shoulders.

"_Marchando_! Did ya call for the Chef, misses?"

"Hey. Burner Man. Who's next in the comic?"

"Caesar Borgia. 15th – 16th century. Son of a Pope and his mistress: natural from Rome… It's said that he poisoned his enemies…"

"Intriguing."

Both girls met with a Navi as they entered a wide room which was a cafeteria: Dark Man was standing behind the counter while the Navi had come out of the kitchen.

"Ain't it?"

Burner Man struck as being around a meter and sixty tall or above,

His head was surrounded by a blood red metallic helmet which had two of those fang-like objects set on both sides of it: his emblem was set on the forehead and its drawing was a simplistic oval-shaped flame colored sky blue.

His eyes didn't have irises on them and were colored blue while a grin covered his face.

Red metallic armor was built over his upper body and it had four metallic objects shaped like fangs set over the shoulders.

Each one had a yellow stripe close to the backwards edge which had a small blackish metallic cover on it.

His shoulders were oddly placed lower than they should be at, half-way down the upper body: two short black arms without elbows emerged from them and ended in long cylinders colored red with a yellow stripe and having black hands at their end: the emblem was repeated there.

The body below the armor had armor with some vertical stripes set on them: his legs were free of armor until just past the knee: two cylinders with the same coloring pattern as the ones in the arms were set there and two armored feet with black soils emerged from below them.

"But he had a short life, see. He was barely on his 30s when he died in a battle in Spain… But since he'd been a Cardinal then he might've been influenced by the plots within the walls of the Vatican City…"

"Oho."

"Have a seat."

"Thanks."

Both sat in the seats of one table and had a look at the charts which Dark Man brought over.

"Hmmm… Some coffee and a salami sandwich…"

"Well… I'd rather have water and a croissant… Sans chocolate." Akemi settled.

"_Marchando_!"

Burner Man grinned and got into the kitchen: they heard him singing a tune.

"_Imagine~… A burning boiling raging oven…"_

"Burning boiling raging oven? Not bad." Akemi giggled.

"Well." Suzuki shrugged.

"_Imagine~… A burning running jumping fella~_…"

"The "imagine something" deal, huh?" Suzuki calmly muttered.

"No doubt." Akemi shrugged.

"Yessir! Hot coffee comin' up! Yo! _Danna_!"

"Roger."

Dark Man picked the coffee cup which Burner Man placed on the window communication the kitchen with the counter area: he placed it and the bottle of water plus a plastic cup in the disk and brought them to the table: Burner Man kept on humming.

"By the way, Dark Man… Needle Man's repairs are almost done by now, right?" Akemi called out.

"Yes. They're 97% completed. In 1 hour's time he'll be able to move around again. All analysis did make sure there wasn't anything weird on his body."

"_Imagine~… A burning rolling climbing flame~_…"

"I think the other orders are coming up."

"Yessir! Heated up sandwich and _croissant_… _Marchando_!"

"Roger."

Dark Man picked them and brought them over.

"_Bon profit._"

"Thank you."

"I'll go tune the news."

"Speaking of news… Who tried to pierce open a "node" yesterday?"

"Ah. That. Some Heel Navi of the Crimson Lobby… But since Entei appeared on the scene then the fellow had to run for it." Dark Man admitted with a shrug.

"Crimson Lobby… They're getting desperate already, huh? Guess they've just started to snoop around." Suzuki muttered.

"Maybe they were pulling out stuff from the Ameroupe agencies or their military." Akemi shrugged.

"Yeah. And now they've realized there's a lot of "cool" tech around here but since we knew from the start that it'd be targeted then we're keeping it safe and protected." Suzuki calmly continued as she sipped some of her coffee cup's contents.

"I expect you to burn, Mr. Burner Man!" Burner Man made a joke to himself and laughed.

"Well. At least the morale's high…" Akemi calmly brought up.

"That's the important part, yeah. I hope that gal stops trying to boycott me… I've fought hard to earn my job as make-up assistant in the DNN and I'm not going to lose it to a self-centered gal…" Suzuki sighed and rolled her eyes.

"That's the spirit."

"Spiritual spirit?" Dark Man improvised a joke.

"Why not…"

"By the way: where's Legato – san at? We haven't seen him yet and he wasn't in the Cyber World either." Akemi asked.

"He went to check on the remains of the Choina Virus Lab… He's spotted some folk searching the ruins and he wants to make sure there's nothing dangerous remaining there…"

"Wise thinking. There could be some remains of that Dream Virus and someone could try to build another one… The last thing we need right now, really…" Suzuki muttered as she finished her coffee.

"In effect." Dark Man nodded in agreement.

"Who could be coming out today?" Akemi wondered.

"My antithesis, I guess." Burner Man chuckled.

"Ah. I wouldn't be surprised if that were to be the case…"

10:50 AM (Japan Time)…

"… I confirm it, _Noir_ – sama, sir… There are no remains of the Dream Virus to be picked and the only thing which seems to have survived the lab's self-destruction is some scarce Virus data… Mostly Mettools, some Garuus, Spark Bees and Curzdos…"

"Good job, Legato. Beware. "Barbatos" might try fighting you."

"Let them come. I'm ready for them."

"Good. But don't get cocky, either."

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah. Get DROWNED, then!"

"Blue Wave."

"Yessir!"

"Show your hide."

"And my sweat!"

"How original."

A Navi named Legato was walking atop a heap of metallic pieces which seemed to be part of a building deep in the Reverse Internet and had been speaking with someone by radio when a voice rang out.

"Ain't it, Mr. Ambassador?"

"I know "Legato" means "Ambassador" in Latin but that's not important."

Legato's main "skin" color was black, yet his upper torso had red blood armor built over it: there were two black shapes drawn over the shoulders having a golden rim and a thin black line spread from the base of the neck to the lower edge of the armor.

His helmet's main color was blood red as well, yet the inner edges surrounding his thick red shades had a tint of purple to them.

His emblem (having a golden outer edge) consisted of white and black halves split by a thunderbolt-shaped line.

A purple band formed on the forehead and circled the whole diameter of it: two valley-shaped cavities had been inserted into the sides of it and they ended in golden circles: a "fin" sprouted from the top of the helmet thus giving it a menacing-like look.

The forearms were colored blood red and had two purple-colored parallel formations which originated at the sides of the emblem atop each hand's palm: they spread over the edge of the forearm while forming a pyramid-like shape.

His right forearm currently held a purple-colored Long Sword with a customized hilt.

The central body of the forearm was now colored metallic gray and had two purple circles colored yellow inside: a purplish-colored blade emerged around a cone-shaped purple-colored formation: the blade looked sharp and menacing for some reason or another.

His boots began slightly below the knee and had purple-colored diamond-like shapes which extended as high as the knee: they were colored blood red as well: the soils were colored purple, too.

Lastly, a wild flock of silver hair came out from behind the helmet and covered all of his body's back.

Overall, he looked like a revamped Blues.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! I've got a power-up myself too! I'll DROWN ya!"

"We'll see about that."

"Get confident while ya can!"

Blue Wave landed in front of Legato from an upper platform.

His main color, curiously enough, wasn't blue, but a shade of silver-like white or, rather, sky-blue color.

His helmet, like all of the other "Shunoros" members, only protected the front and sides of the head while allowing his blue-tinted hair to freely flow out.

As seen from the front, the forehead of the helmet had a device mounted upon it colored metallic gray: it was built using three different parts and the central one spanning across his forehead was shaped like a climbing hill: there then was a triangle-like extensions popping upwards with an orange-like spot on the center of it close to the top: a small piece in the form of an inverted triangle extended downwards and that was where his blue transparent shades were affixed at: his eyes' irises were blue.

The sides of the helmet were painted in that sky-blue color and had no decoration on them save for the "mizu" or "water" _kanji_ painted over the ears using silver-like ink.

The part of the helmet behind the front triangle had a fin spanning across it and until the back: the fin was divided in three parts as seen from the sides: a navy blue-colored climbing ramp line marked the middle section and the segment below it was colored in a dull gray color while the upper one used the sky blue color: a circling metallic band curved along the rear of the helmet and offered protection for the lower part of the head and the neck as well.

A metallic collar-like piece of armor was located around the base of the neck followed by the chest armor which had a metallic upper band followed by an inverted triangle-like piece of armor: the center of it had the initials "BW" set there.

The shoulder armor could be described as being the NW and NE quarters of a spheroid.

Each had a navy blue descending ramp – like line drawn across its length: the lower edges were curved and metallic coupled together with a small square piece on the SW and SE corners of the armor as well.

The forearms' armor (starting at around the elbow and past the exposed segment of arm covered by blue "skin") was rather simple in design having just a small ramp aiming past the armor and emerging from close to the upper edge: they were colored sky-blue too while the hands also were covered in blue "skin".

His boots were also simple in design.

They just had a trapeze-shaped piece of armor set vertically over the knees and one small triangle-like piece close to the star of the toes which had two small openings: it looked like it could vent off heat building up inside of the boots: the soils were plain metallic gray.

"Fight." A distorted voice commanded.

Both looked up and to the left to see "Barbatos" aiming his sword at them in a commanding pose.

"Che. Guille Hideout's twin lil bro." Blue Wave came up with a sarcastic title.

"Don't associate me with those damned humans."

"Then why rip a human's armor from a _manga_?" Blue Wave sneered back at the guy.

"Huh! Shut up." He obviously didn't have a good argument at hand.

"Hmpf. Whatever… As long as you don't get in the way of our battle I couldn't care less of what you do, "Barbatos"… Let's go! Neo Variable Sword! Input commands! Elemental Boom!"

"Wha~t?"

Legato drew a Neo Variable Sword and swung it to shoot out four energy slices colored green, red, blue and yellow respectively: they all hit Blue Wave and the yellow one inflicted elemental damage.

"T-this PUNK!"

"Tell that to Punk." Legato sneered.

"Sea God's Anger! Ocean Pressure! Eat these!"

"Heck."

A _tsunami_ formed and washed the floor to fill it with water: Blue Wave drew two edited Vulcan Battle Chips which had four deposits of water each and four muzzles each: he submerged them in the water and loaded them up to then aim them at Legato.

"They're Breaker! And you're Sword! Eat these!"

"Heck. Cannon Ball!"

Legato threw a Cannon Ball at Blue Wave but didn't make it on time as the guns spun and began to shoot hi-pressure water jets at Legato which hit him in eight different spots of his body and pushed him back: something blew up on his feet and he was sent flying to fall into the water and be washed over a by a wave.

"Heck. Stealth Mine!"

"How's that for a combo, Mr. Ambassador?"

"Quit with that damned nickname." He got pissed off.

"Legato!"

"Huh! I am sorry, _Noir_ – sama!"

"Cool it down! That's an order!"

"Roger, sir."

"So! Our cloaked fellow bites?" Blue Wave taunted.

"Who knows? Maybe Eisei bites a voodoo doll of you?"

"Wha~t? The jerk!"

"Blue Wave!" A voice hissed over his radio.

"Huh! Prince!"

"Behave! This is not the moment to start up a civil war!"

"R-roger, sir!"

"Fight!"

"R-roger, sir!"

"_Noir_. That was unlike you."

"Well, Prince, I wanted to test their "unity"." _Noir_ politely replied.

"Hum. Guess you've got a point."

"Hmpf… Kuroban Howsad… I'll come settle the score with you lowlife sooner or later…" "Barbatos" announced.

"You'll try." Kuroban simply replied.

"Roa~h! Ultimate Move!"

"What! Already?"

"TYPHOON!"

Clouds formed in the "air" and the water began to stir as a mass of clouds began to build up and then begin to spiral clockwise: a typhoon soon began to take shape: violent waves began to form as well as Legato was struggling to remain floating in the water: the typhoon caught up with him and sucked him in: countless pressurized water jets hit his body from different spots and stunned him: a large one shot down from the core of the storm and hit him in the chest propelling him into the water and sinking into it (because it'd risen to a level where it was about 5 meters deep by now): the currents propelled him out into the surface and he was carried by a large wave to then be smashed against a nearby platform: he groaned and tried to move but was too tired too.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!" Blue Wave laughed.

"D-damn it… That's incredibly over-powered…!"

"Heck. Legato's HP points have hit the 1 HP mark!" _Noir_ grumbled.

"Damn." "Barbatos" muttered.

"You're NEXT!" Blue Wave laughed.

"Shit."

The guy lifted the sword and a flash ensued: when it vanished he was gone so the typhoon began to break up and Blue Wave hovered in the air using the Air Shoes Battle Chip.

"See ya, Legato~! Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"

11:07 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Damn it. All aches and I can barely move without stirring up further pain…"

"Cool it down, Legato…"

"I know, Andy – kun…! Grah! First Raging Flame, now Blue Wave…! And now the others will follow their example…!"

"Maybe Kuroban will rethink it and tell them that those are too one-sided abilities and it doesn't bring balance… Or maybe he's making a demonstration to anyone who might question their strength…"

"Fuck. I'm Rank 2 in authority and I got busted so easily!"

"Cool it down. Anger only leads to further anger."

Legato was cursing as he underwent repairs in one of the capsules like Needle Man: Andy was keeping him company by sitting in a chair in front of the capsule and looked worried.

"If this guy's using a typhoon already what will the wind-elemental guy use, then? A hurricane?" He cursed.

"Maybe he'll just use high-speed wind to make mid-air maneuvering harder…"

"Fuck. I know we had some wins, losses and matches in the last period stretching from December to April but…" Legato fumed.

"Here, keep calm. I'll play the broadcast. That will help you get into a better mood." Andy made a weak smile.

"I approve." _Noir_ told them through the radio band.

"See, Boss? I knew it'd be a good idea. OK! Let's go!"

"… Shah, shah, shah! Needle Man back in action!"

"_Marchando_! Boiling chocolate fella~! Burner Man!"

"Filming Master! Spotted: Cameraman! Video Man!"

"In… "Those who returned from "There"!"… The Caesar Borgia chapter: the lord of poisoning!"

"He'll teach Game Freak how to design more "Poison" PKMN!" Kage improvised a joke.

"Heh. I wouldn't be surprised."

"… "… And, as the CEO of "Big & Shiny Jewels", I cheer for our company's success: achieving the fattiest diamond in history!"… They all drink the champagne an odd waiter served them… "PRRRRRTJXKNGGG!"… BLOM! PAF! BAUM! TONG! CROCK! … They all suddenly collapse and look like they've been poisoned! "Heh, heh, heh! Come with daddy, my precious!"… "Hey, waiter! Didn't you hear some odd noises in there?" …. "Yes, that's… It's the clash of cups to cheer! Heh, heh! They're drinking a lot! Here, here, have one as well! Heh heh! You've got the right to!"… "By the way, this waiter fellow wears an odd uniform… Well! Gotta be the fashion…" … He drinks and collapses face-up on the steps of the entrance, clutching his neck and vomiting fire! "Hum! Delicate throat, eh? Don't abuse of alcohol, don't! Heh, heh!"…"

"So he poisoned the champagne, huh?" Legato made a weak smile.

"… "This small ball is a Treasury Collector…"… F is playing tennis by tying the ball with a short string so he can kick it and comes back… "No matter how many times ya hit it… they come back to ask for more! If I could hit the collector like this…!"… "Boss! I got the bomb of Joe "Rubble" which he was gonna throw at the "Fari" when…"... The ball string ties around the grenade's body and since M was holding it by the ring then it comes out, see… "Devil! What the heck was that?"… "It's coming back to get busted, the silly… AH!"… BOOM! "Boss! Did ya know? I was bringing a bomb when, suddenly, a ball flew out on its own and…!"… "Don't continue! I know the rest of the tale! I'm so gonna give you a "bomb" when I get ya! Centripetal, self-sucking and skull-crushing!"… "Forget it, Boss! I get the water from the well sucking with a straw!"… Note: by "bomb" here he meant to say a "pump"…"

"So he was gonna hit him with a pump." Kage laughed.

"… "Sorry to interrupt you, but… Would you mind hearing to me? I got news that the diamond "Jope" got stolen from the jewelers who had it by leaving their stomachs pierced like watering cans… And we suspect the culprit to be Caesar Borgia, another bandit remade by Dr. Bacílez! So go there, get the diamond back and get rid of the guy!"… "Yeah. I know. So where do we find the fella?"… "Easy, Boss! We only gotta wait and he'll drop by here!"…. "He'll… drop by here? What makes you think that…?"…"

"Good question." _Noir_ giggled.

"…. "Obvious, man! If it's a poison bandit he'll need to get raw materials sooner or later… And you always said that Mr. Super is pure poison so he'll come like someone who goes to the supermarket and…!"… BLAF! BLAF! BLAF! BLAF! "OW! AW! OUWAH!"…. "Why! What kicks Mr. Super delivers! If Boss didn't spot them with the navel he'd already busted his shoe!"…. "Get on the move! The guy must still be around the "Big & Shiny Jewels" building!"… "You miserable…! I'm going to give ya venom! I'm gonna give ya…!"… "Forget it, Boss! I prefer pil-pil codfish!"… Mr. Super's shoe did end up busted!"

"… Really… They always need to be making critic of their boss…"

"I know." Andy rolled his eyes.

"… "We're on the guy's trail, Boss! He was here!"… "Yeah, an oddly dressed guy… Comes in and tells Manolo "see, see, test this wine!" and then…" … "Ah! I get it! He's snuck into the reception of Nabochungo Counts! Surely he intends to poison everyone and steal up their riches, see!"… "Then we snuck in a discrete manner, we catch the guy and… and… and…" … PTAF! "Devil! What's wrong? The discretion failed?"…. "The "dis" I dunno, but a "cretin" sure was, that rascal… He hit me in the eye!" … "Why! Mr. Butler! Allow me to offer you a cup!"… "Thanks, waiter!"…. "I was right! The rascal's inside!"…. "Well, Boss… The guy's not so bad, after all… Heh, heh!"…"

"So the butler intercepted M and then he sympathized with Borgia 'cause he poisoned the brute…"

"Sure thing…"

"… "Let's get in! Full gas!"… "Roger Boss!"… "Drinks may be poisoned! We must make sure the guests don't drink! Act subtly and with discretion!"… "Roger!"… "Cheers, Cruse Marquise!"… "Cheers, Flick Duke!"… "What do you think, Boss? Those 2 won't drink anymore!"… He closed their mouths with padlocks! "Grthjx! Stop with the idiocies! What we gotta do is analyze the drinks to see if they're poisoned!"… "Ah! Let me, let me! I've got my pocket analyzer!"… "Why! What a cup of wine! I'm going to enjoy it!"… "Allow me, ma'am, allow me! Town Anti-Venom Service! See? If Dagobero (a mouse!) drinks and nothing happens then there's no danger! Aha! A bit drunk but happy… You can drink without fear, go on!"… "A~G! I feel disgusted! I feel disgusted!"…."Man! I worry about the fatty gal's health and you reward me like that! Let her go drink a liter of bleach!" … "Grmbljf! I'm fed up! See how I do it and learn! Excuse me, sir! Allow me to pick your cup, sir. A simple check from the security service, see? Some drops from the reactive in the analyzer…"…"

"Oh well. That seems more logical." Andy sighed.

"Doesn't it?" Legato chuckled.

"… "Aha! No traces of curare, arsenic or Prussic acid… You can go ahead and drink!" … "What are you saying, man? I'm not mad!"… "Come on, fellow, come on! There's no danger? See? I drink it like that!"… "Well, I don't mind if you like the stain-remover but… Yes, totally mad! See, I carried a stain-remover so that the Marquise could take out the tomato stain in the front and…"… "Well, Boss, I see how you did it, but in truth…"… "Grjgtxk! Outta my sight! And go light your cigarettes on the Vesuvius' crater!"… F tries to kick M and his shoe flies off!"… "Heh, heh, heh! I prepared some venom: by using TNT, enriched uranium, gum-7 and garlic pot which… NO! NO! NO!"… The shoe flies towards the pot with the venom on it!"…!"

"Man! I can see the result." Kage laughed.

"Trouble." _Noir_ sighed.

"With capital T?" Legato joked.

"No doubt."

"… "NO~!"… * BOUM! * … "Nuclear Bang in the Habochungo Counts' Manor! The guests of the meeting show up scattered between the Caucasian Plateaus and the Fiords of Norway. Suspicions are focused on two fellows who were roaming there, a bald guy with glasses and another with two hair strings which…"… "Mortadelete~! Filemoncillo~! Come, come, I'm going to grant you the great medal for distinguished services!"… Two medals having a donkey drawing on them and a nail: he's planning to nail them into the guys! "Did ya hear it, Boss? Is it true? Should we go?"… "Shut up, you idiot, and swim! Just swim!"…Video!"

"Burner!"

"Needle!"

"V-B-N! End of chapter! Next chapter preview: Nero! The Emperor Who Set Rome Ablaze!"

"Oho. Nero next…!" Legato grinned.

"What an odd cast." Andy rolled his eyes.

"By the way, Boss… Did we get to figure the human IDs of the other Shunoros members excluding End Angel and Venomous Wolf?"

"Not really. We never bothered to."

"Ah. OK. Just in case. Well. I don't think any of them will have trouble holding back those Crimson Lobby guys if they try to assault them or something like that." Kage shrugged.

"Yeah. I know. We did provide materialization systems to all of your former classmates too… And we're keeping the "Copy Roid" data under safe custody, too. We don't want something like that of last summer, that "Sisterhood of Pureness" showing up again."

"I know. We've prepared a raid in another locale."

"Good."

"Next Saturday."

"Alright. I think I'll have time. If not I'll send you a mail…"

"What will we do about "Barbatos"?" Andy asked.

"Let him be. He's not dangerous. For now, that is. And even if he ends up going berserk we can easily close him up in the "Cyber Dimension" once again…" _Noir_ replied.

"Alright."

"Regarding Legato's damage… It isn't as grave as Needle Man's so I think that by tomorrow he should be able to move again…"

"I understand, sir…"

"Don't force it. Just rest."

"Roger, sir…"

"Alright. I'm going to the deck. You coming, Andy?"

"Sure. Wait a min, Miquel – kun."

Andy warped out of the Cyber World and into the real-world deck where he spotted Kage leaning over the front handrail and looking out at the ocean stretching in front of him.

Kage wore an open brown overcoat, a blackish t-shirt under it, a pair of jeans and black knee-tall boots.

He still had the sunglasses on.

"It'd seem trouble has arisen."

"Ah. Cosmo Man."

Cosmo Man, a former "Darkloid" of "Nebula", walked over to them at a calm pace and looking calm.

"Yeah. Those "Ultimate Move" things are getting too over-powered. Let's hope Kuroban puts some limits to it or else the whole deal will become too one-sided and it'll start to feel unfair." Andy sighed.

"Indeed… By the way… I just scared away 13 Navis come from El Salvador and who had cutlasses…"

"Cutlasses? Guess they were too lazy to properly equip them." Kage turned around and looked slightly surprised.

"Indeed. My might alone was enough to make them run back to their foul turf." He formed a smug smile.

"There cha are! Let's settle the score, Miquel!"

"Oh hell. Not Joanne – san AGAIN…!"

"Hum. It would be wise for me to retreat."

Tozukana ran up the deck towards them and Cosmo Man lifted his eyebrows before dematerializing.

"What now?" Kage grumbled.

"So! What's the plot, huh?"

"What plot? There's never been any. Bertha – san ain't involved."

"I know that. The smug gal got Wan as play-thing. I don't care about that: what's the red-haired gal up to?"

"Sakurai – san? Oh come on. We were just classmates! And if someone has something to say about it then that's Hikari Jr. – kun. They're childhood friends, after all." Kage grumbled.

"Hmpf! So! What's with Leonel?"

"Leon? Oh please. Stop bothering him. He's trying to live a normal life after being imprisoned for 3 years."

"Oh yeah? No wonder he's so dry, then. Dry Gal got the guy!" She made up a lame joke on the spot.

"That's not something to joke about! They were about to sell him to a club to be abused over and over again!" Kage scolded.

"Oho. I see…" She looked smug.

"Ahem, ahem. Tozukana."

"Oh heck."

"What did we say about this?"

"Che! They got in the way. But I'll get to the bottom one day~!"

Ms. Secretary had shown up behind Tozukana and cleared her throat: Tozukana grumbled and ran off while Kage fumed, Andy grumbled and Ms. Secretary looked pretty if not totally annoyed.

"That young woman…! What needs to be done?" She fumed.

"Call her aunt… AGAIN…" Kage grumbled.

"It is a vicious circle!" She cursed.

"Indeed, ma'am. Jealousy and paranoia are the worst combination ever: history has proven it." Andy sighed in defeat.

"I shall speak with her aunt, indeed. I do not want to involve President Hades and place further pressure on him. He is busy enough." She muttered aloud.

"Of course, ma'am." Kage nodded in agreement.

She walked off at a quick pace while Kage's PET rang: he checked the number and seemed to lift his eyebrows under the glasses.

"Unknown number… Hello?"

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…" A voice chuckled.

"You're not Eisei."

"Nah. I'm Flame."

"Whaddya want? To brag?" Andy challenged.

"Who knows?"

"No. More like to warn ya." Another voice added.

"You're Wave." Kage guessed.

"Did my wave of waving wavers surprise ya~?"

"Not at all. Go surf and beat 007 to it." Andy challenged.

"Why not…"

"Or go tell those Crimson Lobby guys to stop being annoying."

"Hah! We'll do that if we see one of their envoys. The Prince is clear enough: that stuff ain't for sale! Or should we say… "This _chateau_ is no longer for sale"?" Flame laughed.

"You picked that from _Red Rackham's Treasure_."

"Given how you guys' boss is a fan of _Tintin_…"

"We never denied that." Kage shot back.

"No, you denied Ganondorf." Wave joked.

"… Ah. Yeah. He did say "very well, then. Deny me. With that "friendship"…" … You did see how his predecessor was uglier than him, huh?" Andy was unimpressed.

"Yeah. And we're having fun seeing how everyone's moaning, groaning and cursing at the 3rd timeline, the "what-if"… But they get stuck there and don't realize that the "Adult Timeline" is also a "what-if"… Anyway: these discussions won't die anytime soon at this rate. But at least we got some order to the games' placement." Flame shrugged.

"Don't you have something better to do save for bringing up _Zelda_, you lot?" Andy taunted.

"Yeah. We can go challenge Black City."

"Or White Forest."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!" They both chuckled.

The call finally ended and Kage muttered something under his breath as he placed the PET back on the holster.

"Huff. Let's hope the next one isn't that brutally over-powered."

"Yeah. And I can't shake off the feeling of danger in the air… No good."

_I feel danger lurking closer and closer…! We can't lower the guard!_


	5. Chapter 5: Windy moods

**Chapter 5: Windy moods**

09:39 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday May the 10th…

"… So, Sandra, dear… Did you visit the specialist?"

"What specialist, Bertha – chan?"

"The one who'll make "those" bigger…"

"Oh come on. Quit it with that running vulgar joke."

"That walking elite proverb?"

"Sheesh. Be serious."

"Be dynamic."

"Lovely."

"Isn't it?"

"I heard some sneaky and juicy chit-chat!"

"Who's there? A pervert?"

"Not really."

"Shunoros?"

"Bravo. Fighting Cyclone!"

"Bertha – chan. Blow the dust off the Folder and get ready: this won't be a walk into the park, cha know."

"OK."

A girl Navi had been walking down one side-street of Internet City and chatting with her Operator when a voice rang out: the girl Navi calmly stopped on her tracks.

"So! Cha are Sandra, huh?"

"Yeah. There's Ikada Bertha. My Operator."

"Yeah… The onboard "Ice Queen"…"

Sandra's helmet had a ruby set on its forehead and her eyes irises' was green: her face was shaped like a woman on her late teens or early 20s and its profile had an almost smooth shape to it.

Her bodysuit's main color was cobalt coupled with a golden band around the waist, golden shoulder plates and golden bracelets on both the wrists and the ankles.

Spiral-shaped magenta patterns travelled down her arms' and legs' surfaces while eight lines of the same color spread from the blackish edge of her chest emblem.

She currently looked dull and unimpressed.

"Tee, heh, heh. So, _boy_… What's your style?"

"Fighting style?"

"No, no."

"Huh? Videogame style?"

"No, no."

"I'm lost."

"Jeez. Bertha – chan. Quit it already."

Ikada Bertha, as seen through her Operator screen, was on her early 20s: she had long platinum blond hair plus eyes with blue irises to them: she had a ruthless-like figure to her, even.

"Too bad, my dear."

"What's that about?"

"It's not worth telling it, believe me. In short: it's a troll." Sandra rolled her eyes and sounded annoyed.

"Ah. Guess that."

"So? What can cha do?"

"Heh! Plenty of stuff!"

Fighting Cyclone's main color was green.

His helmet was also partial since the rear was unshielded and his purple-tinted hair emerged from behind.

It was split into two parts: the uppermost part had a dome protruding off the helmet's center and protected by further armor which, as seen from the front, amounted to a trapeze with two extensions reminiscent of antennae aiming backwards: two narrow yellowish pyramids formed from the rear section of the dome and aimed backwards: the center of the trapeze had the "_kaze_" or "wind" _Kanji_ colored purple set there.

The second part of the helmet could be described as an inverted trapeze covering the center of the forehead and with two slightly curved lines aiming backwards and which ended with another pair of inverted trapezes coupled with a bit of black armor: the ear-pads were also purple in color but had no drawing there yet they had a black edge as seen from the outside while the edge running down the cheeks was white.

A pair of greenish transparent shades protected his eyes the irises of which were brown.

The chest armor began with a round blue metallic collar around the base of the neck and, from there, an inverted triangle-shaped piece of greenish armor extended with the purple initials "FC" scrawled on its centermost spot.

The shoulders had an initial upper-half-of-a-cylinder armor coupled with further armor with curved greenish armor built in segments: two white paws were set on the foremost and rearmost sections.

His forearms, like most Navis, had armor starting at the elbow and protecting them: it was built using a green circle plus a green cylinder reaching until the wrist.

Three fins were arranged in a row over the whole of the armor paired with a pair of white metallic blades reminiscent of a dragon's ones starting at the wrist and extending past the hands' length: the exposed arm was covered in black "skin" too.

Similar to Raging Flame, the body below the torso and until the knees was only shielded by black "skin" and a row of dull gray metallic squares ran down the length of both sides.

The legs' armor began at the knees with a blade aiming upwards and a navy blue round edge with a diagonal depression: the rest of the boots were rather plain green models with two bands splitting the boots in three segments colored deep green.

Lastly, a metallic green piece with orange edge reminiscent of a dragon's tail emerged from the rear of the torso's armor.

His overall height was over a meter and seventy tall.

"Spiral Gusts!"

"Battle Chip, Dream Aura 2! Slot In!"

"Devil."

"Speaking of the devil…"

"Hmpf."

"Mr. Rumor ended up being true…"

"RUMOR? ME?"

"Who…? "Barbatos"!"

Fighting Cyclone drew two small fans which shot out two spiraling gusts towards Sandra but the Dream Aura 2 blocked the attack: she then glanced up and left to see "Barbatos" looking towards them: he got annoyed when Sandra qualified him of "rumor".

"Yeah. A rumor about you had been floating around the blog but no – one bothered to shoot it down or confirm it. I guess that if someone knew they decided to leave it like that to not bust out the excitement."

"Damned rascals! Damned Andy! Damned Slur!" "Barbatos" growled and brandished the left fist.

"My, my. Guess he's former Yakuza." Ikada giggled.

"Jeez. Bring out something else."

"Like what? Milk?" She blinked the right eye.

"… No." Sandra drily replied.

"Kidding, dear, kidding. Let's see~… Oh my. I'm lucky today. Sword, Wide Sword, Long Sword! Program Advance!"

"Hum. Dream Sword."

"Heh! Interesting! Long Blade, Wide Blade! Let's go~!"

Fighting Cyclone drew both swords and jumped into the air to then use the "Top" Battle Chip which he placed behind himself to let its wind current propel him forward: Sandra made the Dream Sword hit the ground and the energy column headed for Fighting Cyclone: he crossed both swords and blocked the attack: he was suddenly hit by an Air Shoot 3 Battle Chip which caught him off-guard and was followed by the rounds of a Vulcan 3 Battle Chip: he groaned and dashed forward to attack Sandra twice but a statue of the Pokémon "Gothiruselle" showed up instead and 3 _shuriken_ hit Fighting Cyclone: he collapsed on the ground as a Boomerang Battle Chip flew next to him and hit the "Top" Battle Chip thus blowing it up.

"Damn it."

"Hmpf." "Barbatos" taunted.

"Che! The Prince is going to MINCEMEAT ya!" Fighting Cyclone growled at the guy.

"No. I'm the one who is gonna mincemeat that man."

"Are you paying attention?" Sandra sighed.

"Shit. I thought you guys didn't know how to fight."

"Slur – sama has us train four days a week for 3 hours."

"Heck. Should've seen it coming from the Prince's worthy adversary…!"

"Indeed. So? What's cha style?" Ikada grinned.

"I'm Wind-Elemental!"

"I didn't mean that. Or you're a newbie?"

"Newbie? In what sense?" He got annoyed.

"Oh. You know." She shrugged.

"I dunno, Miss!" He complained.

"Jeez. Don't mind her. She loves trolling people. She can be worse than Uncle Merton's nephew, even." Sandra complained.

"I haven't shown you all I can do yet! Circling Tornadoes!"

Two small tornadoes (barely 1 meter tall each) formed next to him and shot forward to begin cycling Sandra: she suddenly threw a Magma Seed at the feet of Fighting Cyclone and turned the stage into Magma Panels: Fighting Cyclone smirked.

"I've got Float Shoes in my Navi Customizer!" He let out.

"I knew that."

"Huh? Then why did you use that?"

"To test a new Battle Chip… Inspired by one you guys have used…"

"Huh? What's that? Wait… That rings a bell somewhere…"

"Magma Storm!"

"E~H?"

"What!"

Sandra drew a red-colored fan-like weapon which began to suck up the Magma Panels and shoot a spheroid of magma at Fighting Cyclone: several more were shot (another 8) and they all met the target: Fighting Cyclone growled and cursed under his breath.

"Recovery 300!"

"Recovery 100."

"Damned. That weapon looks dire." "Barbatos" muttered aloud.

"Alright! Guess I need to get serious! Wind God Racket! Ice Seed!"

"Ah. I see."

Sandra wasn't too surprised when Fighting Cyclone hit her with the Wind God Racket and pushed her back followed by an Ice Seed landing on her area and turning it into Ice Panels.

"Heh, heh, heh! Bubble Side!"

The Bubble Side hit her and froze her on the spot given the Ice Stage: Fighting Cyclone chuckled and was getting cocky.

"Doll Thunder 3!"

The blast hit Sandra as she was inside of the ice and inflicted double damage to her: she simply shrugged it off and looked dull and unimpressed while Fighting Cyclone kept on getting cocky.

"Mwah, hah, hah! I'm the strongest! No need to bring out the Circling Winds, my Ultimate Move! I'm the winner!"

"I wonder about that, newbie." Ikada taunted.

"Wha~t?"

"Muramasa Blade~!"

"Fuck! Grua~h!"

Sandra leapt towards the guy and swung the Muramasa Blade to form a wound on his chest armor near the neck: he instinctively clutched it and groaned while trying to bear with the pain: he stopped hovering and landed on the ground as well.

"Spread Gun, Triple Slot In!"

"Program Advance! Hyper Burst!"

"Damned! I got cocky there!"

"Fire~!"

"Ugra~h! I'll remember THIS!"

The blast did impact him and he escaped in the ensuing shockwave and flash: Sandra merely shrugged her shoulders and then directed a dull and uninterested glare at "Barbatos" that seemed to annoy him.

"W-what's with that glare?" He demanded.

"Dunno. Maybe I was thinking that this should be enough of a warning?"

"W-warning?"

"Of course. If you were planning on assaulting us and beating us and then boast that you beat a Golden Star member… Discard it."

"Nya~h! I feel VEHEMENTLY DISGUSTED!"

"Oh my. Then go vent it off "there"…" Ikada giggled.

"There? Where?"

"In your imagination, Mr. Barbarian. Plug Out."

"WHA~T? T-this BITCH!"

However, Sandra had already been retrieved and Ikada's screen shut down so "Barbatos" growled something and swung the sword to neatly cut a segment of the ground and wall behind him: he roared and jumped from roof to roof while brandishing the sword in a mad manner.

"Damn them! Damn them! Damn them! I'll overcome them all! And I'll be the Ultimate Net Navi! Then nobody will dare to laugh at me~!"

He finally jumped into a hole which led to the Reverse Internet and vanished: Shade Man had seen it all while flying high in the air and looked somewhat amused.

"Hmpf… At this rate you'll be consumed by your own power and become nothing… Well. I better report to Slur – sama but she will most likely not mind the whole deal. And I'm eager to hear the new chapter involving Nero… Heh, heh, heh…"

_We mustn't forget about the "Crimson Lobby", though…! _

08:58 AM (Philippines Time)…

"… Yo. Kazebun. How'd it go?"

"Shit. That girl busted me with the Muramasa Blade!"

"Oh man. Guess our lucky streak ended."

"Sure thing, Netsuhonoo!"

"Cool it, you two…"

"Hey, Umisama… It's not like I'm the one who got annoyed…"

"I know. But we aren't invincible."

Three guys met in a small beach in the front side of one island having a tall lone mountain (about 50 meters tall) occupying most of its surface.

One of them was on his late teens or early 20s.

His height appealed to be around the 175cm mark and his body had an athletic look to it.

His hair had been dyed fire red and his eyes' irises were brown: he didn't seem to be too surprised.

His choice of clothes were a red opened sleeveless vest over a black t-shirt with the drawing of a crimson or scarlet – colored flame on its center surrounded by spiraling smoke trails: his jeans were plain and normal and his socks were simple black wool ones: his sneakers' color was white.

"Netsuhonoo Robin. For your info: the Prince still thinks it wasn't fair to pick someone who was weak to you elemental-wise."

"Fuck. I knew that already, Umisama Garcia! No need to tell me 5000 times!"

Umisama Garcia, the second one, had dyed his hair blue although some small patches of the original brown could be spotted there and there: his eyes' irises were blue.

He was close in age to Netsuhonoo.

He wore a t-shirt with the words "Hokkaido" and a drawing of Sapporo City's main avenue: he sported jeans and blue-stripped and white sneakers.

"Kazebun Gerard. You should've been more analytical."

"Not like you two were!"

"I'll admit to that."

Kazebun Gerard looked like he was in the same age range as the other two as well.

He had eyes with brown irises: his hair had been tinted purple and his face was smooth and had a "good" profile to it.

He sported an open purple sleeveless vest over a t-shirt with the drawing of a purple-colored tornado and the words "KICKASS TORNADO" colored green inscribed below it: his jeans were plain yet coupled with a black belt decorated with the "_taifuu_" or "cyclone" _kanji_ colored green.

His sneakers were colored purple and green as well.

"Should I play the chapter?" Umisama suggested as he drew a Link PET with Blue Wave's drawing on it.

"Sure. I wanna find out about if this fellow pyromaniac is as dangerous as I am." Netsuhonoo laughed.

"Hmpf. Let's see." Kazebun shrugged.

"… Welcome~! Today… The Nero Chapter! So! Let's go! Needle!"

"Shah, shah, shah! A fellow with a suitcase walks down the road! "Well, I got the pay sheet money. Let's bring it to the office… Hum! Sniff, sniff, sniff… I'd say it smells like burnt… I dunno if it's my stomach because of the sausage sandwich I had as breakfast or… OH! AH! UH! UA~H!"…"

"_Marchando_!…"Burn, oh, Marcus Tulius Quejigus, burn happily and happy, from the tarsus to the nose and from the neck to the navel!"… Nero shows up with a harp and holding a match on his right hand's fingers! The guy's rear is on fire! …"

"Heh, heh, heh! Singing with the harp and setting fire: now that I call multi-tasking!" Netsuhonoo laughed.

They walked towards a short concrete pier and sat on it with their legs hanging over the shallow waters: the waves were small and barely noticeable.

"… "Well, well, well! The Ides of Mars are propitious! Heh, heh! Some more sesterces in my booty!"… "Video! Stop there, punk pyromaniac! I've seen it all! You're under arrest for burning rears in the public road and… and… and… sniff, sniff, sniff… AH! HELP! MY LEG'S BURNIN'! FIREMEN!"… "Burn as well, centurion! With devastating, scorching and razing flames! Burn in any manner! You potbelly!"… Charming poetry, isn't it?" Burner Man laughed at his own comment.

"Sure thin'!"

"Oh come on." The other two groaned.

"… "And I keep on singing, loyal to this burnt Rome… Why, Jupiter, what joy! I'm starting to look like Rafael!"… He set fire to the policeman using a match with his right foot's fingers and now he sets a black cat's tail on fire as well! "Brute!"… Shah, shah, shah! "Mortadelo~! Mr. Super's calling for us! Where are ya at?"… "Here, Boss! Testing the tail disguise!"… "Grfjtx! I'm fed up with your disguises! I going to un-tail ya and…!"… PTAF! "But, Boss… Are you mad? You ruined my Boeing 747 "tail" disguise!"… "Grrrjjj! Eat tail! Eat seven o' tails!"… "Forget it, Boss! Don't see? I'm fine enough in my glued state! I'm going to glue into a corner!"… "Terminus station! End of trip and pay attention! They stole the pay-sheet of "Carbide & Salmorra Sausages Inc." by setting fire to the carrier of it like he was a "faria"…" Note! A type of cigarette typical of Spain!"

"Heh! Good wording!"

"Sure, sure."

"… "This time around it's Nero, another of guys pre-made by the repellent Doctor Bacílez! So got get the guy and…!"… "Yeah, I know! And if sets fire to us, then what?"… Good question, by Moran!"

"Good question, yeah." Netsuhonoo grinned.

"… "No problem! Go to Supplies and they'll give to you special anti-fire sets!" … "Anti-fire sets… BRJXTKZ!"… Two siphons placed behind their heads with a small hose to shoot it out! "Yeah! A weird fella with a lyre! When I turn to tell him "we've arrived, it is 315 Z and the voluntary bonus" then I find that…" … A taxi on fire! "We're on the track, Boss! He's been through here!"… Burner?"

"Yessir! "Burn and burn, oh, Rome! Via Apia, Via Lettuce, Via Eagle, Via Caterpillar… Burn already, man, it's no joke!"… "See, there's smoke and all! The guy's training!"… "Devil! We must fall upon the guy and…!"… "Allow me, allow me!" …"I like that! I knew I could count on you!"… "Of course, Boss! You can fall upon the guy, you can!"… "Devil! Traitor! Cowbell!"… He was flung over a wooden wall! "Grtjxh! Trying to steal my potage of acorns, huh?"… "I, I…" … "You just heard Chapter 715 of "Nero, the Great Tyrant or a Swing Emperor?"… "So! Boss! Do you need help? Do I come in, too?"… CRASH! "Ah, no, he's coming out."…"

"So it was a radio broadcast, eh?" Netsuhonoo laughed.

"And I guess the guy preparing that got pissed off and punched him out through the wall." Kazebun laughed.

"Huff." Umisama sighed.

"… "Grmbl! I'm gonna teach ya to throw guys over fences!"… "Forget it, Boss, forget it! I'm busy learning Chinese by post-bag!"…. "Hey there! Get Nero! Get 'im! He's escaping!"… "Stop, Boss? Did ya hear? We've got him now! You trip him, he falls and I cuff the guy!"… "Yeah! Get ready!"… "GUARGL!"… "ARGN!"… "OUWA~H!"… "But, Boss… You're slower than a mussel running the 1000 meters! Allowing him to close the mouth before shoving the leg apart…!"… "Come on, "Nero"! Get back inside and don't run off again!"…. "What a kind mister, eh? He saw he was hungry and provided some leg!"… "…"You trip him"… GRTJX!"… "Well, Boss, then place a sky-blue ribbon on the rear! What could I know?"…"

"So it was a dog. And one of the owners was pretty silly… They always seem to get into trouble with animals."

"Animal Trouble Duo!" Netsuhonoo laughed.

"How brilliant."

"Isn't it?" Sieg walked towards them.

He sported a black sleeveless t-shirt with a "broken heart" drawing colored purple, blackish shorts with a brown leather belt and brown sandals.

"Yo. Junior. Come have a seat."

"Sure, _Danna_."

"… Burning! "Burn, oh pine seed pine, become cinder or re-burnt sausage, but, go, burn as a whole!"… "You swine!"… "Let the Mars Calends be propitious, you bestowed ones!"… "And to cha as well, fella!"… "HIM! IT'S HIM!"… "I'm gonna arrest him! You keep out, and if he brings out a torch to burn me, you attack him!"… "Count on it, Boss!"… "Stop right there, Nero! Stop lighting flames! You're under arrest! Hey! What are cha doing, what…? A~H!"… "FLOASH!"… "What nerves, man! The Boss is on a pinch and I can't do anything!"… "Burn like a paschal candle, or like oak charcoal! A gentleman couldn't care less!"… "Letting the guy set on fire without doing anything! I'm gonna kill ya!"… "But, Boss… You told me to attack if he brought out a torch but he used a wielding burner! I didn't have specific orders about it!"…"

"Jeez. He takes things too literally. Torch or burner, it makes no difference! He should've attacked nevertheless!" Umisama fumed.

"Heh, heh, heh. Maybe Loopholes Man was behind it." Sieg chuckled.

"… "Come on, come on, I'm going to put it out ASAP!"… "Forget those primitive methods, you moron! Use a fire extinguisher!"… "Ah, OK, now I'll bring one! Whaddya want me to say, Boss…? The tree branch may be prehistoric but I think it's more practical!"… CLOC! CLOC! CLOC! "Man! When you're re-burnt then there's no coming close to you, Boss!"…"

"Man. Another example of his lack of knowledge in technology: he just hits him with the extinguisher instead of using it!" Umisama groaned.

"Heh, heh, heh!" Sieg chuckled.

"… "We must follow his trail! Quick, we can't let him run! Looks like he was here!"… He set fire to a grandpa's beard and he's trying to cut that part off! "… And here too… It ain't hard to follow his trail, no!"… He set fire to a manhole and the guy inside leapt out as his rear burnt! "Man! He loves setting fire to everything!"… "When I spot the guy I'm going throw them a grenade…! Gotcha! He's stopped behind that track of zoo supplies!"… "Zoo supplies?"… "Of course! Don't you see the banner? "Comestibles para osos"!"… Note: food for bears. "Devil! It doesn't say "comestibles para osos! It says…!"… Real banner: "combustibles peligrosos"… Hazardous fuels! It's a cistern-truck! …"

"No way!" Umisama and Kazebun gasped.

"Ops." Sieg and Netsuhonoo grinned.

"BOOM! WHA~M! "Burn, Roman Empire, Claudius' Empire, Octavius' Empire, Pompey's Empire and Flavius' Empire… We got blown up, Tiberius!" … "Horrific explosion in the public way! A cistern truck loaded with highly hazardous fuels blows up and turns 7 blocks into rubble plus a pear which an old man nearby was eating. Present witnesses claim to have seen a guy bald and with glasses and another with two hair strings throwing an artifact at the truck and…"… "Moradeli~llo! Filemonce~te! Come, come! See this neat ball I've bought for you!"… "I think we should reward that attention and…!"… "You don't think anything! You just squawk and search for decomposing matter… AND EAT THEM!"…"

"End of Nero Chapter! Next: Attila Chapter! Video!"

"Burner!"

"Needle!"

"V-B-N! Off Air!"

"Huh… Why did they bother mention the "pear", there, in the newspaper…?" Umisama wondered.

"It's a pun!" Sieg grinned.

"Illuminate me." Umisama challenged.

"Well! "Manzana" is used to count blocks, see! So since we already had 7 apples why not add 1 pear too?" He laughed.

"How devious." He drily muttered.

"Hmpf. Guess that."

"Ernst? I thought you'd gone some days to Latvia."

"Yeah. I just came back with some data the Prince wanted."

Ernst, End Angel's human ID, didn't seem to be older than fifteen or sixteen years old and past a meter and seventy tall.

His hair had grown in an uncontrolled manner and it now extended to past the base of his neck: it had a natural reddish tone to it and his eyes' irises were blue in color: he looked calm at the moment.

He wore a white t-shirt, jeans, black sneakers and a brownish overcoat which was open and had short sleeves.

"I'm going to submit it. And don't forget His orders." He directed a glare at Sieg.

"Y-yeah, I know." He gulped.

He headed for a pair of armored doors built in the mountain's base which slid left and right when he came closer and revealed climbing stairs: he headed in and the doors closed while the guys chuckled.

"Alright. Only 3 Denpa – Henkan users pending showing up… Then there's "Dullahan"… And the Prince…" Sieg grinned.

"Heh. And this time around that white-haired punk won't be able to beat us so easily like he'd done before." Netsuhonoo grinned.

"I wouldn't get cocky." Umisama warned.

"Fine." Kazebun shrugged.

"Let 'em come… Heh, heh, heh!"

11:11 AM (Japan Time)…

"… So. Any news on Kuroban?"

"Nothing spectacular… They now prefer to further use their Philippines base than the one "there" but…"

"He hasn't done anything big either. It'd seem he's collecting data there and there. Maybe he's trying to come up with something… Solo."

"Hum. Fine. I'll drop by one day to remind the guy I'm not going to let him sneak away so easily…"

Kage and Andy were sitting in a bench placed at the end of one pier in the dock and looking at the sea spreading in front of them while talking with a guy.

This guy, Solo, was a young man around twenty five years old.

His hair was white and unkempt given how it formed a bundle aiming for every direction downwards: there was no sense of order in there.

His irises' color was blood red and he currently rather serious.

Other traits on his face were red facial marking trailing down his right cheek starting from below his right eye and which was reminiscent of a thunderbolt: two golden earrings evoking some tradition or culture were clipped to his ears.

He wore one custom-made bodysuit the primary color of which was jet black and which was a combination of a sleeveless sweater, a normal sweater and baggy pants which also served as shoes.

The suit also had linear cyan patterns proceeding from around his stomach to the tips of his feet: the sleeves, however, were colored in a dust-like brown colored and ended in orange-colored cuffs.

Woven across the chest was a crest like colored yellow which could be described as two opposing halves of a square with a line climbing down from their SE and SW edges: this line connected with another heading towards the left and then ran diagonally towards the center of the chest.

A small square dot was set in the middle of the space between both parallel and mirrored drawings.

"Do as you like. Kuroban is your prey."

"Yeah. I don't mind Slur clashing with the guy either. And as long as the guy doesn't try to use Mu Technology then…"

"If memory serves… Slur – sama did get to hand him over some odd data which she thought it could be related to something hidden "there"… But she hasn't commented about it, either." Andy brought up while rubbing his chin.

"I see. Well. Then it's fine. I'm going overseas for a while to resume my training in a quiet manner. What about "Barbatos", though? Aren't you concerned about them?"

"Not in the least. He tries to rush it, he goes berserk. And that doesn't benefit his hide to begin with so…"

"Good point. See you, then."

Solo walked away and both sighed as they looked at the sea: they heard someone walking towards them and it turned out to be Enzan who was stuffing both hands in his pockets and had his classical unimpressed look to begin with.

"So. You were here."

"Ijuuin? What's up, man? Bored?" Kage grinned.

"Somewhat. Having to repel useless expandable Viruses and Heel Navis of the "Crimson Lobby" is boring." He grumbled.

"Maybe you could try taunting "Barbatos" into a fight?"

"Why not… Not like his HF blade can but Blues into pieces, either…"

"When it comes to blades… Please leave it to me, Enzan – sama."

"Of course. We've got more than one ace in our sleeves."

"Ace Man?" Kage joked.

"Why not…" He formed a smug smile.

"Maybe you could try giving those Shunoros guys a run for their bucks?"

"Hmpf. Like I did with Venomous Wolf…" Blues seemed to grin.

"Oh yeah. That'd be terrific."

"Oi, Blues! Trouble!" Punk rushed into his PET.

"Punk? What now?"

"They sent Meijin a bomb-letter: a real one! Luckily he got suspicious right ahead and threw it into the garbage bin! Those lobby jerks are getting desperate, damn it!" He grumbled.

"Damn it. Guess we'll have to walk with lead feet."

"Or maybe it's another party altogether, someone else, who is taking profit of the circumstances?" Andy suggested.

"That could be, true. It seems too bold of a move on their part given how they used proxy agencies to hire the Navis and set up a smokescreen around them…" Blues muttered.

"Huff. We're collecting data on them, yeah, but we still don't have enough to open up a judicial cause." Kage sighed.

"Fuck." Punk cursed.

"Yeah. We all feel like that." Enzan sighed and rolled his eyes.

"I hope Boss and President Hades come up with a good strategy to deal with them or else…" Andy grumbled as he began to pace around the bench in an exalted manner.

"I know, I know… Let's hope Zero can collect enough data soon and we can begin the counter-attack. "Mewtwo's Counter-Attack"…"

"Hmpf. Yeah. Send a Mewtwo to ravage their Cyber World…"

"Good idea, Ijuuin… Get ready, you lot! Mewtwo's coming for ya~…"

"Hah! That I call a good idea, man! Let's go for it! Yessir!"

12:02 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hum. So you suggest hitting one of their proxies to get data on any physical persons running the business, connections, how they move the money and such, Vice President _Noir_?"

"Yes, President Hades, sir. The Net Police agree with it."

"Ah. If they agree then it's no problem. They are spoiled children who need some punishment."

"Indeed, sir."

Two characters were meeting inside of an office room.

This room contained a desk and visitor chairs plus a set of three metallic drawers to store files yet the only piece of non-practical furniture was a canvas hanging from the furthest wall and having an oil-based drawing of a four-mast windjammer sailing into the sunset.

"Good. Let's wait some hours until the evening. They might be hoping to catch some institution or person off-guard at that time. But they will be the ones to be caught off-guard."

"Obviously, sir."

_Noir_ was sitting in one of the visitor chairs.

His height was around the same as Andy's yet there was something peculiar about his persona which stood out.

That "something" happened to be the fact that he was clad in a black European monk's robe with a heavy hood which hid his face: his hands were inside of the long and wide sleeves and the tunic hid his feet as well so only the voice told that he was a male: it was soft.

"Then I approve… Tell Mr. Zero."

President Hades appealed to be around 27 years of age and as having a height of a meter and eighty-five centimeters: his hair was neatly combed and brownish in coloring: his eyes' irises were brown in coloring and he was clean shaven.

His clothes consisted on a black suit coupled with black tie and black quality pants: he looked like a typical businessman.

A gray trench coat was hanging from a perch set in the right wall near the door along with a brown hat having a black band around it.

"Immediately."

_Noir_ drew a black and white Link PET with Legato's emblem on it and inputted some commands: his hands were gloved.

"Hello? Zero? It's me. We've got the go-ahead. Ready "Mewtwo" and let it go as wild as it wants. And if you can send them some other surprises along the way then it's alright. During the chaos which will ensue we'll retrieve all data we can and analyze it. This will be shared with the Net Police too. I'll take care of summarizing it." He told someone.

"OK, _Noir_… I'll get to work in the sprites along with my 12 helpers… One, Three, Five! Finish the Mewtwo program."

"ROGER, SIR!" Three Program – kuns confirmed.

"Eight, Eleven, Ten! Upgrade the random warp protocol. Set it to the Net Police HQ's Secure Server."

"ROGER, SIR!"

"Four, Six, Nine! Ready me a bunch of "Kentauros". Bring them up from the cache server."

"ROGER, SIR!"

"Seven, Twelve! You guys stay here and help me ready a folder to store the data we're going to get tonight. It'll be protected with algorithm D55D, get it?"

"ROGER, SIR!"

"Good. All the actors are in the move. Soon they'll be gathered."

"Let them know what happens when you play with fire like Nero."

"They get burnt, sir. Heh, heh, heh…"


	6. Chapter 6: Of Indiana and Evil

**Chapter 6: Of Indiana and Evil**

20:20 PM (Indiana Time), Wednesday May the 11th…

"… Halt. ID yourself."

"Thunder Man EXE."

"Ah. Colonel has told us to expect you. Come in."

"Thanks. Where's Colonel?"

"His office. Do you know the way?"

"Sure thing."

"Good. Then go."

"Well. I hope Barrel doesn't try to use me as proxy again."

"I don't think so. He's mature enough to know we'd refuse and he can't force us. We're civilians, after all, Raoul."

"Hum. True. But you never know."

"Ah. Thunder Man. You came."

"Colonel. Get to the point."

"Fine. It involves the "Crimson Lobby"…"

"Those rascals? Then count me in."

Thunder Man stepped into the Cyber World of the Ameroupe Army Base after speaking with the firewall guards: he walked down a corridor and entered a room to find Colonel there: Thunder Man merely told him to get to the point, which he did, and Thunder Man growled.

"They gave you trouble?"

"Ever heard of the "Elec Grip"?"

"Ah. So you helped develop it?"

"Yeah. And then they hacked our PC and stole the schematics."

"Weird. I seem to remember it soon failed." Barrel muttered.

"The version scanned in the PC was not up-to-date. Some calculations were pending tuning. Luckily enough. One's sloppiness ended up saving the whole affair. I deposited the physical schematics in a safe place which I only know about." Raoul grumbled.

"Well. Golden Star sent some weird game monsters to rampage one of their proxies and gave them a message. I'd like to do the same but we'll go all out with real soldiers." Colonel told Thunder Man.

"Good. Let's figure out where the hell their filthy money comes from and some of their grunts or insiders. There could be some here, too."

"I know. A background research is being run by the NSA in a cut-off manner: that is, there is no document anywhere acknowledging that. So there's no risk of any insider knowing about this." Colonel hushed to Thunder Man.

"This room is safe, I take it?"

"Yeah. I broom it every a couple hours. Tiring, but it's a message as well: we take security very seriously."

"Fine… When do we go?"

"Right now."

"Perfect. Lead the way."

"Good. Tomahawk Man. Get ready for the sortie." Colonel interacted with his radio.

"Roger."

"Dingo. Don't lower the guard. They're mere small fry but they one of them could have enough brains to exploit elemental weakness." Barrel dully warned him.

"I understand. I brought some Aura – Class Battle Chips."

"Good. Meddy. Prepare the infirmary and ring up your assistants."

"Roger, sir."

"How many of them are there?" Thunder Man asked.

"Our surveillance revealed 55 at the max and 21 at the minimum."

"55. How many of us will be going?"

"111."

"Hum. So we'd outnumber them 2:1 approximately. Yet numbers per se don't bring sure victory…" Raoul muttered as if reflecting.

"Wise reminder. We've all got 3 Folders with different strategies: we tried to balance them as best as we could. Some plain clothes agents bought from civilian Battle Chip stores posing as private security corps. No – one complained: they're relieved enough to be able to make some business in these economical crisis times." Barrel explained.

"Good. Enough preludes. Let's go!"

Both rushed out and Tomahawk Man joined them as they reached a large square where a platoon of Navis having black armor and helmets was waiting: they all had the Ameroupe flag painted on the helmets' foreheads and were ready: 9 purple-colored "portals" had been opened in front of them and they were all forming rows of about 12 soldiers per row: Colonel, Thunder Man and Tomahawk Man assumed places in front of the central row: Colonel lifted his saber and they all drew Super Vulcan Battle Chips and Long Blade Battle Chips to salute.

"Are you ready, soldiers? We're going to deliver punishment to those rascals who rob citizens of their inventions and sell them to anyone, even terrorists! We can't let them arm the terrorists and have they become more and more dangerous! We don't want another 11-S! Right?"

"YES, SIR!"

"Then let's go! To the battlefield! The portals' exits are hidden from normal view and we'll strike from 9 different flanks at the same time! As backup, our own Virus Lab bred "SP" class Mettools. Go! We'll give those bastards a lesson which they'll never forget!"

"HORRAY!"

They all rushed into the portals: the group of 3 appeared inside of a wide square with many terminals on them and several Heel Navis working with them: the background had the name "Illinois Products Inc." on it thus displaying the company's name.

"Nobody move! You're surrounded!"

"Damned! The army! Let's fight 'em back! Horra~h!"

"All units: open fire! Try to avoid collateral damage to the terminals!"

"Ring the alarms, you damned idiots!"

More and more Heel Navis rushed in and began to open fire with Vulcan Battle Chips, Cannon Battle Chips and by throwing Mini Bomb Battle Chips: the soldiers began to counter and some got into close-quarters combat with the Heel Navis who were no match given how they only had Sword Battle Chips at hand: the scandal was overwhelming and it was starting to look like a real battlefield.

"Thunderbolt!"

"Tomahawk Swing!"

"Screen Divider!"

"Grua~h!"

"Damn it! We're outnumbered!"

"And out-gunned too!"

"March forward! Corner them! But, remember! This operation is intended to be a capture operation! Measure your fire!" Colonel commanded.

"Roger, sir!"

"Erase the terminals!"

"We can't! They're already surrounded by soldiers!"

"Shit!"

"Fire~!"

"Gra~h!"

"Eat bomb!"

"Useless! Eat Long Blade!"

"Kruga~h!"

"Sir! Out of 55 enemies, 51 have been captured. 4 are trying to escape but we've locked down the homepage. There's no exiting it. Even if they were to find one of our portals they'd end up in the base where the reserve troops are on standby." A report came in.

"Excellent. These proxies are done for. And this will be a warning to those damned rascals… Bring in the analysis teams! I want some escorts in case the terminals are Virus-rigged!" Colonel ordered.

"Roger!"

"There ya are! Tomahawk Air Raid!"

"Gura~rgh!"

Tomahawk Man struck one of the remaining Heel Navis and knocked them out while he shrugged and shook some dust off him.

"Thunderbolt!"

"GARURURURURU~!"

Thunder Man intercepted another from some distance and seemed to feel satisfied from the results.

"Mice… Colonel Cannon!"

"Grack!"

"This is home base: we captured one escapee!"

"Good. We've round them all by now. Operation: successful."

"HORRAY~!"

10:30 AM (Japan Time), Thursday May the 12th…

"… Hum. So the Army struck a proxy in Illinois, you say… Agoras – kun."

"Yes, sir. I happened to be running some earlier investigations by hacking sensor data along with Victor, sir…"

"They outnumbered and outgunned them with ease: all got caught and they will be debriefed while their terminals are studied. It was amusing to see it, right, Joel – kun?"

"Indeed."

"Good. This should be enough of a warning. Their age is coming to a close and we won't tolerate their criminal dealings anymore."

A guy and his Navi partner were having a meeting with President Hades on his office.

The guy, Joel Agoras, was a young man who appealed to be close to 20 years of age and having a height of about meter and eighty centimeters.

His hair's color was a bright brown one and it was rather messy and forming flocks there and there while a pair of reading glasses hid his eyes: he had a creepy smile across his face.

His choice of clothing happened to be a white shirt with a collar having four buttons on it plus a teal brown coat over it which was open in the middle: he finished the set with a pair of grayish wool pants and simplistic brown shoes.

"What is your take on it, Mr. Victor?"

"An organization like us is something. But now they got hit by the Ameroupe Army, no less. They will be idiots if they don't realize the obvious implications of it, sir."

Victor, the Net Navi, was as tall as his Operator and even surpassed by him by a whole five centimeters.

His helmet's surface was covered in a grid of brown tiles separated by black lines and columns.

A bright yellowish jewel had been set on the center of the forehead: the ear-pads had his initial, the Alphabet "V" letter colored golden, drawn over them.

Blue transparent shades were installed over his eyes the irises of which were brown: his face had a smooth look to it and could even be considered attractive as seen from the sides.

His main body had that same pattern printed over it and his chest emblem's edge was colored red, green and blue in different percentages while the golden "V" was set against a white background.

His shoulders had eight-pointed stars drawn over them colored red, green and blue at random while his arms also had the grid pattern printed over their skin: the forearms were colored navy blue with dusty brown bands circling around their length.

The legs kept on using the grid pattern over it and the boots happened to have the Alphabet initials "RGB" with each letter printed on their corresponding color, set over them.

Overall he looked like a combination of the three basic colors and a brown grid: his expression denoted amusement.

"Good, good… If we keep it like this… Then they won't last for much longer: it was about time we did something about those folk."

"May we leave, sir?"

"Of course. Do enjoy."

"Thank you, sir."

Both stood up and bowed before walking out of the office into a corridor: a door with the label "VP _NOIR_'S OFFICE" was set right in front of them but they ignored it and headed further down to end up in the cafeteria where they met another member sitting on a chair and drinking Coca-Cola.

"Mr. Atarasei."

"Hey. Holmes. Ya back from Mongolia?"

"It could be said as so." Agoras smirked.

"Jeez. Quit it with those jokes." Victor sighed.

"Don't worry, Victor! Atarasei Oscar 'ere has got everythin' under control, ya know me!"

Atarasei Oscar could be around Kage's age and had the same approximate height too: his body was thin, athletic, and had good build to it which was proof of his apparently continuous exercises.

His jet black hair was a wild flock which knew no order or pattern and extended until the base of his neck.

His eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses.

He sported a navy blue overcoat over a greenish t-shirt, a pair of navy blue jeans tightened with a black leather belt: a pair of thin socks covered his feet and he used black sneakers for footing.

"Where's Alex at?"

"Oh. The conspirer? Reversing the Reverse Internet." He joked.

"Stop bringing up the Golden Sun joke."

"Stop bringing down the Silver Moon joke."

"Oh come on."

"_Come on, baby_!"

"Are you sure that thing is Coca-Cola?" Victor seemed to suspect it was something else altogether.

"Ask Dark Man."

"It is! I served it from the can myself." Dark Man replied from behind the counter as he stepped out of the kitchen.

"He's TOO cherry." Victor seemed to suspect something.

"Being too cherry is a crime now?" Agoras asked with a smile and while adjusting his reading glasses.

"No. But I suspect there's something in the background."

"Of course there is: my signature!" Atarasei grinned.

"So! Oscar Wilde! When will ya drop by~?"

"Oh heck. Joanne – san! We've talked about this: I don't want to get into a mess!"

Tozukana came in and looked rather smug: Atarasei grumbled and fumed as he turned around to face her.

"A mess sponsored by Ikada~?"

"No. A mess staged by YOU."

"What is this commotion?"

"Oh hell. Tactical escape~!"

"Hmpf. That woman again…!"

Ms. Secretary rushed in and Tozukana ran off: Ms. Secretary fumed and was seemingly getting annoyed again.

"Something must be done! I will call her aunt right now. What was going on, anyway?"

"She tried to drag me into a mess, ma'am, and I was trying to shoo her away." Atarasei admitted.

"A mess…? Ah. I see. I see." She calmly guessed the meaning of the wording used.

"Indeed." Atarasei confirmed.

"I will speak with President Hades. There is a limit to that type of jokes to begin with."

"Of course, ma'am." Agoras politely bowed.

She ran off while muttering something under her breath and Ikada came in after seemingly crossing paths with her because she'd lifted her eyebrows to display surprise and amusement.

"Oh my. Joanne tries to imitate me now?"

"Ironically enough." Atarasei fumed.

"Don't worry, Operating System – kun!"

"Oh come on."

"I've got enough with Wan." She smugly let out.

"That's because it fits with the guy's personality." Atarasei grumbled as he stood up.

"I expect you to Oscar, Mr. Oscar!"

"Don't mix me with the Oscar Awards, man." He complained.

"I knew it." Victor sighed.

"What did you know?" Agoras asked.

"The madness. It's coming back OVER AND OVER AGAIN."

"At least that young Emperor isn't on a rampage anymore." Agoras shrugged and chuckled.

"What young emperor? That Ooyama – kun fellow was trying to be cool last summer: that's all. I've heard he's lied countless times by now."

"Well. I'm off to the deck: I'll check on Alexander The Lesser."

"Oh my. Now who's the one starting the Nickname War, Oscar – chan?"

"… Heck. Got me there…" He grumbled.

"I'm Got Them All Girl."

"Sure, sure. It's LAME."

He darted past her and headed north while Ikada took out a portable mirror and opened it to look at her face.

"I'm beautiful or so I say myself." She giggled.

Both guys rolled their eyes and sighed while she giggled…

10:48 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Leaf Cutter!"

"Heck. Cannon Ball!"

"Vine Whip!"

"Heck. You look up to that mental Plant Man jerk, don't you?"

"Oh no! I look up to Fushigibana!"

"Heck."

"Heck Man!"

"No! My name's Alex!"

"And I'm Ruthless Vine~… Ruthlesssss!"

"Don't mix in parsel-tongue, man."

"Heh, heh, heh."

Two Navis were having a face-off in one spot of the Cyber World which was a Cyber Forest: the exact place was a clearing inside of it which had some benches set on the corners plus four roads stretching in all four directions: some banners signaled their destinations.

"So! Alexander The Middle! Show me your moves! And your royal blood as well! Maybe you've got midi-chlorians in it?"

"Sheesh!"

Alex, one of the Navis, could be about a meter and seventy tall, three to four inches taller than Atarasei.

His helmet had a golden-colored "Alpha" drawing set on its forehead and it was colored in an azure color with golden bands circling the ear-pads and the edges of the helmet: some azure hair popped out from behind the helmet and stretched until the base of the neck.

His face was shaped to look like that of a guy on his late teens: his eyes' irises were azure and he had an air of "elegancy" to him.

His chest armor had a silver vest built over its surface which appealed as being a layer of extra armor and which ended at the height of the chest emblem: the emblem had a bronze-colored edge and its inner color was platinum: it contained the "alpha" symbol on its very center.

His shoulders were covered in sturdy black armor from which some yellow-colored lines originated to travel down the arms' length: his forearm armor only encompassed the forearm and not the elbow to seemingly allow for further movement: four red circling bands spiraled around its length and ended at the knuckles of his fingers: both arms' color was navy blue yet the forearms and fingers' choice of color palette was sky blue.

His legs' knee protections had been painted white but they had diamond-colored circles varying in diameter set on them: three circles in total spread from the centermost point of the knee protection.

The boots had three pearl-colored bands circling the upper edge, the ankle, and the start of the toe fingers: their general color kept on being navy blue.

"Heh, heh, heh! Ruthlesssss! Clear Sky!"

The skies cleared and the Sun brightly illuminated the area: Alex grumbled something.

"Magma Cannon Ball!"

"Dream Aura 1!"

"Heck. He sacrifices it to avoid being hit or the Battle Chip hitting the floor to produce Magma Panels." Alex grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh! Solar Beam!"

"Wha! Ugra~h!"

"Luckily ya aren't Water – Elemental!"

"Shit. But in Net Battles only Elec can beat Water!"

"And what if I hacked the rules? Rulesssss…"

"Fuck."

Ruthless Vine was obviously another member of "Shunoros" and his design looked like it was heavily biased on that of Blue Wave's with some differences.

The helmet design used a patch of pale green as main coloring: the forehead had been extended forward to form a triangle: this triangle had a patch colored in a lush green color coupled with two small rectangular yellow-colored slits on the bottom edges close to the metallic edge circling the prolongation and which were largely reminiscent of eyes: the "kusa" or "grass" _Kanji_ had been colored in a mud brown color on the very front of the helmet.

The rest of the helmet used that pale green coloring in a small patch above the lush green segment and in the parts near the rear: two small metallic extensions flanked the sides of the head.

These ended at the same level as the lower jaw: a brownish square with two triangle ends allowed for the fusion of the helmet's segment mid-way across the head and two metallic short-length lances aiming diagonally upwards extending past the head: a pair of transparent greenish shades covered his eyes the irises of which were emerald green too.

His chest armor was rather flat in contrast to Blue Wave's and the initials "RV" in a mud brown color had been set on the center.

A small additional lush green plaque with a trapeze-shaped indentation on its lower edge had been attached blow the chest armor by the use of two white hexagons which also were reminiscent of eyes.

A brownish edge surrounded the neck's base and travelled irregularly across half of the shoulder armor's upper edges: it turned metallic white and ended as spikes aiming outwards right on the outer edge of the shoulders' armor: their lower half was also colored lush green and the division was set as line forming two "V" shapes on its path.

His forearms' design and his boots' design were identical to Blue Wave's save for the different coloring.

"Heh, heh, heh. Carving the defeat, runt?" He laughed.

"Che. You'll regret pissing me off like that! Mega Chip! King Man!"

"What!"

King Man formed there and jumped forward to land atop Ruthless Vine and pine him into the ground: he groaned and then stood up but got hit by a Fumikomi Cross Battle Chip followed by a Plasma Ball Battle Chip: the Virus began to generate them around its surroundings and he couldn't avoid being hit four times in a row: he managed to recover.

"Che. And unlike Pocket Monsters there's no reducing of the power if it hits the wrong type… And even there Grass isn't effective against Elec nor is Elec effective against Grass…!" He grumbled.

"Starting to realize your own powerlessness?" Alex taunted.

"Shit. I talk too much."

"So it'd seem, Mr. Grass Man."

"T-this JERK!"

"Yo! Alex! Did ya get the Alchemy Power?" Atarasei called out.

"No." He drily replied.

"Or Mary's love?"

"No."

"Or the Mercury Star?"

"NO!"

"No Man!"

"Wha~t?"

"Chance! Leaf Blade!"

"What! Grah!"

"Ops."

Ruthless Vine recovered and formed some greenish swords which formed a row and cut across the air thus opening some cuts in Alex's torso: Ruthless Vine chuckled.

"Mistletoe Seed!"

He shot some seeds which attached to Alex's body and formed some thin vines with leaves on them: they began to glow and transfer energy from him to Ruthless Vine.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"

"Shit!"

"Don't worry. I've got the perfect medicine for this guy. Salamander!"

"Oh SHIT!"

"URRRA~H! BURN!"

"D-Dream Au…!"

"Slow!"

"MUGRO~RGH!"

Alex was surrounded by flames and he shot into the air while forming the image of a flame dragon: he drew an arch towards Ruthless Vine who gasped and was a second too late in activating his defense: Alex hit the floor and Ruthless Vine was surrounded by incandescent flames followed by a ring-shaped shockwave: when it died, he was pretty much burnt out and exhausted.

"Damn it… Self-regeneration!"

His body glowed and energy surrounded it: he managed to get back on his feet although his balance was bad.

"That only regenerated up to 50% of your max HP." Alex told him.

"Nyarraga~h!"

"The Niagara Falls? Go have a dip there, then." Atarasei joked.

"I don't think it's a good idea to piss him off."

"T-these PLEBEIANS!"

"Oh yeah? And you're royalty?"

"Che! It's way of speaking, you ne'er-do-well!"

"Bring out Captain Haddock's Insult Encyclopedia."

"You're asking it for it, you GYROSCOPE!"

"Shoo, shoo. Rookie, rookie!"

"Oh come on. Oscar – kun. Don't anger the guy further on."

"S-shit. My balance is bad and I still feel roasted! That had to be worse than Burner Man's rampages! I'm off, you smallpox sequels!"

Ruthless Vine growled under his breath and opened the hole-portal to vanish: Alex sighed in relief while he heard someone walking up to him from behind: he turned around and was surprised to see Colonel there with his weapon drawn.

"You're Colonel."

"Where's Slur?"

"Not again… Look, like it or not, Slur – sama's power easily overcomes yours so why don't you give it up and go hit another proxy?"

"Shut up. I'm in charge."

"This is Japan. And the Reverse Internet is no-man's-land."

"Like Alex says… Your heroics of some years ago are being forgotten: and yet the only thing you did back there was to use the "Giga Freeze" to "freeze" the whole area and you then destroyed the remaining "Darkloids"… We've seen image data recorded by Search Man, Blues and Rock Man, you see." Atarasei dully added.

"Che." He grumbled.

"Hit a spot? And what happened after that? Huh?"

"Shut up."

"You used Rock Man as bait for Forte… And as bait for "Nebula" too: while setting up that silly "wanted" show… In the end Rock Man and Forte were the ones that beat "Nebula Grey" when Rock Man reached out to Cybeast Greiga and got its power… What a blow to your silk cape, eh?"

"Shut the hell up." He grumbled.

"I knew it."

"Huh! Thunder Man… You followed me?"

"I had a hunch. When will you quit acting like a guy who won't accept defeat, Colonel?"

Thunder Man walked up into the scene while sighing and having seemingly foreseen that it would end up like that.

"Look! What's more important right now? Chasing them out of your own grudges or blowing up the Crimson Lobby bastards?" Thunder Man questioned Colonel.

"… Che." Colonel knew Thunder Man was right.

"See? Man! Get a hold of yourself. What if some pesky journal sees this to begin with? They'll begin a campaign of defamation and Washington politicians are gonna butt into the deal next."

"Damn. The last thing we'd need."

"Can't you even picture such an obvious _scenario_? Man."

"I know! I'm looking like an idiot. But there are far too many secrets!"

"You yourselves are developing secret tech, aren't you? And you yourself don't know all of the state's secrets nor have the permit to know them, right?"

"… Sheesh." He grumbled.

"See? I've got a point there. How can you accuse them of being secretive when our own nation is? Go back and think about it, Colonel."

"I've got to agree with Raoul here. We don't want a scandal to hit us the next day after the raid." Barrel told Colonel.

"Grrr… Roger!"

He aimed his saber at his right in a violent manner and opened a "portal" into which he jumped: Thunder Man grumbled out of pure exasperation and Alex had folded his arms: he looked unimpressed.

"How the mighty have fallen, huh?" Atarasei commented.

"I'll agree with you on that." Thunder Man admitted.

"Come back, Alex. It's M&F time."

"Well. It might help improve my mood."

"Hum. See you."

Thunder Man walked away while Alex warped out of the Cyber World and appeared on the deck: Atarasei was interacting with the PET and sitting in a chair next to one of the small buildings set along the length of the front deck: Alex picked one to his right and sat down as well.

"… Welcome, my fellow conspirers! Today… Attila the Hun! Some background info: our fellow lived in the 5th century AD and ruled over the Huns for 20 years. He was feared in both Western and Eastern Roman Empires! He raided Roman Gaul, north of Italy and Constantinople."

"Hum! A terrific foe, then!" Atarasei grinned.

"If that's how they saw him…"

"… Shah, shah, shah! Banner: "TREASURY. Taxes' Payment"… "I'm fed up with seeing annoyed faces! Huff! I'm wishing for someone to show me some teeth with a smile and… and… AH! A~H!"… A horse's head suddenly pops in through the counter's window and bites his nose! The guy is pulled out while the rider picks a small armored box! "Aha! Here's the Great Mongol's gold!"… "Mongol? No, I think the Treasury Minister's from Valladolid, my fellow…"… "Go, "Cozdemúlez! Let's keep on plundering!"…"

"Enter Attila the Hun!" Atarasei grinned.

"Stealing the treasury money, huh?" Alex wasn't impressed.

"… _Marchando_! "Well! But don't push it! My work-time is from 8AM to 3PM!"… "So a horse assaulted ya, eh? Come on, come on! What did you do with the money?"… "I assure t-to you that… Cough, cough! I…" …. "Oh dear! Have you seen that a profile that "Coniferus Cachopinus" has? I love him, I love him!"… Two girl-trees looking at a guy-tree! They gotta be young Ents!" He laughed.

"From the _Lord of the Rings_, huh?"

"… "Go on with a razing throttling! Where "Cozdemúlez" steps into, nothing emerges alive! Heh heh, heh!"… "That's what I call a brutish horse! Heh, heh!"… "My "Coniferus Cachopinus"! So beautiful! So filled with resin!"… "Ah! Sawdust we are and sawdust we'll become!" … "I'm a bit nervous today… Mr. Waiter! A _tila_!"… That is, some linden flower tea… "_Marchando~_!"… Attila rushes through! "Grftjx! I said "a _tila_"! A tila, not Attila!"… "B-but, see, I didn't, I… Go drink a chickpea juice with a straw!" … "Now we'll gallop to…" …"

"What a pun." Alex drily muttered.

"Let's not be so dry, _bad boys_." Ikada suddenly popped at Atarasei's left and grinned.

"Not again." He grumbled.

"Not never."

"What was that, Ikada – san?" He sighed.

"Oh? Who knows?_ Bye, cool kid_."

Giggling, she headed back south while Alex rolled his eyes.

"… "…"We'll gallop, we'll gallop…"… I'm the one galloping, fella! I'm getting muscle fever here!"… "Alright, alright! See! There's the solution!"… "Hey, there! No animals are allowed!"… "Yeah! The horn guy can go on foot!"… "Have you seen? It's incredible!"…"

"What's going on NOW?" Alex sighed.

"… Shah, shah, shah! Well! "Yeah, I know! First time the bus comes in time!" … "Look, look, at that fatty lady there! She doesn't know the horse-tail hairstyle is out of fashion!"… This last line was by Rompetechos, Ibañez's terribly short-sighted fella who brings disgraces to wherever he goes to!"…"

"Jeez. Short-sighted sure is if he thought the horse's rear was a fat woman's hair."

"… "Mortadelo~! Mr. Super's callin'! Whaddya doin'?" … I'm trying the _muelle_ disguise, Boss!"… Note: _muelle_ is a multi-meaning word! F thinks it's a spring! As in the mechanical device! "Again with the stupid disguises? Brrr! I'm throwing you head-first into the ocean!"… Opens the door and water rushes out! "A~RGLL!"… "What the heck are ya doin'? You let out all of the water of my _dock_ disguise! It was identical, identical to the Port of Piraeus' one…!"… It's a real port in Greece! "Grtfjx! Take port, you calf! Take library port!"… "Man, Boss! You've got worse mood than a retiring minister!"… "Thanks for stopping, boys! And now listen! The repellent Dr. Bacílez is back for more! He brought Attila the Hun and has him assault there and vandalize there! Look for the guy, catch him somehow, and eliminate him!"…"

"Ibañez and his Spanish puns…" Alex rolled his eyes.

"They're invincible!" Atarasei encouraged.

"Lovely."

"Isn't it, Mr. Smiling Alexander?"

"Oh come on. Let's quit it with the Nickname War."

"Too bad, Mr. Conspirer!"

"Huff. What have I done to deserve THIS?"

"Sin and endless sin! Playing _Mario Kart Wii_~!"

"This guy…! You need a cold shower!"

"And a hot shower of evil passion!"

09:57 AM (Philippines Time)…

"… Hey there! Kisei Mutt's come to smile on us!"

"Shut the hell up, Netsuhonoo!"

"What happened?"

"Huff. Umisama… Alex beat me with the damned Salamander thing!"

"Oh man."

A new guy joined the usual crew of "Shunoros" in the pier while looking fed up.

This fifth guy was about the age and height of the other guys: his hair had been tinted green and it was neatly combed while his irises were emerald green.

His face had some marks of previous cuts and blows which had mainly faded by now.

His clothes consisted on a sleeveless leather jacket, a lush green sweater, a pair of slightly worn-down jeans and sneakers.

He had a greenish PET with Ruthless Vine's emblem on it.

"So! I caught that it's supposed to be Attila the Hun."

"Yeah. Join us and vent that mood off, man." Kazebun encouraged.

"… "Hum! And where do we find the guy? If we knew his habits…"… "I know, Boss! Wakes up at 8AM, cleanses, combs the moustache, picks the car and goes to make it look like he's working, yells at his grunts, goes to have some coffee and…!"… "B-but how do ya know that?"… "Well, you said all vandals have the same habits, no? And when you mention Mr. Super you always say "that vandal guy" so I deduce that…"…"

"F is always ill-mouthing his Boss, huh?" Kisei rolled his eyes.

"And madness ensues!" Sieg teased.

"You fail at teasing, man."

"Guess that, _Danna_."

"… "… "That vandal guy…!"… Grtbnjtlm! Take vandalism! Take! TAKE THIS!"…" … "Ow! Ow! Damned chatting parrot! You'll remember this!" … "Royal parrot! Wing away and escape the jackal!"… "What a brutish guy, man…! Yeah! A horned helmet and a horse! Hadn't I dodged in time, he'd run me over!" … "Stop it, Boss! Did ya hear? There he is! I'm going to give him some warning with my boomerang launcher disguise! See, piece of a cake!"… "HIHIHIAH!"… "Hum! That voice… Dunno if I hit the guy or him, you see… But, well, you're ours! Gotcha, bloody Attila… AH!"… It was a rags buyer who went on a carriage with a horse and had a small Viking helmet as decoration! Shah, shah, shah!"

"Lovely." Umisama sighed.

"Ain't it?" Netsuhonoo laughed.

"So it's Dullahan, Eisei and Urateido by now, huh? And the Prince." Kisei sighed.

"Of course." Kazebun muttered.

"… "Attacking an innocent animal! I'm going to hit ya with my club between eyebrow and eyebrow!"… "OW! OW! OW!"… "Come on, Boss, stop complaining! I bother to shoulder-carry ya!"… M used a Native Ameroupe Indian mother disguise and put F in the baby basket on the rear so his head was the one getting the blows! "Yeah! I can carry the jewelry samples without worry! Armored doors, man! See, see, not a scratch!" PLAC, PLAC, PLAC! PTAF! CRONCH! "OW! OW! OUWAH!"… "The treasure of Ming-Akol-Tah in the sack! Heh, heh!" … The horse kicked both men through the door taking out both doors! "See, Boss? There, there! Look, he stopped next to the basement's skylight to have one cannabis cigarette! I've got an idea! You get in, catch his feet, I hit the guy and knock 'em out!"… "Good idea! There he is! Heh, heh! Piece of a cake! Got ya, dude! Quick, Mortadelo, hit his teeth!"… PTAF! "Well! You gotta be pleased, no? There! I lent you my boots! Who'd said a horse would complain 'bout bunion pain!"… "Devil! What the heck are they doing? Now Boss can't catch his feet! Hey! Boss! Stop! You can't get 'em, see!"…"

"Man." Kazebun, Umisama and Kisei sighed.

"Heh, heh!" The other two chuckled.

"… "Wrong! I got them all! And wait, now I'll pick yours to make them company!"… "Forget it Boss! We worms don't use that!" … "Brrr! Now that he's on his feet I'll deal alone with the guy!"… "Have this candle, Boss, and if he resists, set fire to his moustache!"… "OK! Hey, punk, you're arrested in the name of the "T. I. A."!"… "What! Devil! I'll split you into two like this tree!"… Takes out sword and swings… But apparently nothing happens! "Hah, hah, hah! You didn't even hit it! You didn't even… hit… it…! CRONCH! The tree falls and hits F's head: he breaks a concrete cover under his feet! "Boss! This reeking smell is gas! You broke the cover of the register and main pipe! Turn it off and let's go or we'll mess it up!"… BOOM! "Sabotage in the Great-Grandfather Raf Street! They break the main gas pipe, place a candle nearby and cause an explosion that has changed the name "street" for "square". They've found remains of a horse and weird guy with horns in the Ria de Vigo and…" … "I'm going to give you candle! I'M GONNA GIVE YOU!"… "Don't bother, Boss! I navigate with sardine propulsion!"… Another pun! "Vela" can mean both candle and sail, see!"

"How clever. And they blew up the city AGAIN." Kisei sighed.

"Next! The penultimate chapter! FRANKESTEIN STRIKES BACK!"

"Shah, shah, shah! And this time's the real one! Tall, strong, scary!"

"_Marchando_! See ya around!"

"Video!"

"Burner!"

"Needle!"

"V-B-N! Off Air!"

"Frankenstein, huh?" Seig grinned.

"They do know how to tease~!" Netshunoo laughed.

"Sure, sure. I'm off. I wanna have a nap." Kisei stood up and headed for the entrance.

"Remember, Sieg… Don't bring up jokes about it while Ernst is around or I'm around." Umisama warned.

"I know, _Danna_! I don't wanna invoke the Prince's anger." He gulped and looked nervous.

"Good."

"Well. I'm off to having some fun there." Kazebun stretched his arms as if shake off his sluggishness.

"What'll ya do?" Netsuhonoo asked Sieg.

"Well… Guess I'll go train. If I meet Mr. Rumor I'll tell him he's Mr. Urban Myth by now." He laughed.

"Just don't take the guy lightly."

"I know, I know, _Danna_…"

Netsuhonoo left as well and Sieg stood up: he stretched and held back a yawn while he looked around: he suddenly seemed to frown under the sunglasses and turned around to check the area: he could only see the other guys chatting and heading into the entrance.

"… Oh come on. I'm being paranoid. "Barbatos" was stripped of materialization capability so… And who else would be here? Our sensors would have detected anyone trying to come here, by air or sea. The closest island is 23 kilometers SSW so it's not a distance ya can cross by swimming… Unless they used diver's gear and some propeller… I guess we'll have to install underwater sensors as well. I'll talk it with Eisei: he can suggest it to the Prince."

He drew his Link PET and held it up on his right arm which he lifted.

"Denpa – Henkan! Sieg Nedora, On Air!"

Some streaks of light jumped out of the screen followed by an spheroid: the energy formed a "cocoon" around Sieg.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah."

The "cocoon" vanished to reveal how he'd assumed the form of Venomous Wolf: he howled and then warped with the "warp-hole" effect to appear higher in the air where some roads of orange energy existed and stretched into several directions while forming a square perimeter around the peak of the mountain.

"This is the Wave World! One day… All transactions will be done over these and the Cyber World's payload will lower… Thus allowing it to carry out new functions! That's what the Prince said and I'm sure he's on the right track… Heh, heh heh. This world is OURS!"

"RUSO! Russian Spotted!" A voice laughed over the radio.

"Man. Eisei. That was LAME." He sighed, for once.

"ELMA! Elma came to say hi and bye!"

"Who the heck is that?" He rolled his eyes.

"Your College of Siegfried cousin!"

"College of Siegfried? Oh come on, Eisei. You're worse than M&F."

"I'm charmed." He laughed.

"Huff. Just make sure those lobby jerks don't try to assault us, OK?"

"Don't worry. I'll go visit another of their proxies. I'm a copycat but who cares? Their CARS are filled with SCARS! Super-Cars!"

"Man. Just leave my sanity alone and go troll Ookarada."

"Sure thin'! And I'll go see his "Lie Counter", too! Heh, heh, heh."

"Huff. Eisei… Ya can have weird moods when ya want to."

Venomous Wolf rushed forward across the "Wave Road" while looking at the ocean from time to time as if to check there was nothing odd there.

"Meh! Even if it's one of their agents… We can deal with those!"

_Those jerks will regret underestimating US! Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh!_


	7. Chapter 7: Peril in the air

**Chapter 7: Peril in the air**

08:17 AM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 14th…

"… Tom. Distance?"

"Yeah… 330 meters… 13 km per hour wind… Coming from NNW… No visibility hazards… All clear…"

"Fine…"

"By the way… What did you think of our assault, Felix?"

"Hmpf… It was a good lesson… Show the fools what we can do…"

"Ya can draw a PPK7 from your jeans' inner band, Leiter! Felix Leiter!"

"Qong. Tozukana. You know it. Stop… annoying me."

"Tee, heh, heh."

"Oh come on. Be quiet, cha."

"Cha talkin' 'bout me, Lily The Goth?"

"Sheesh."

"Calling on Joanne the Vile Sniper!"

"Not that again."

A guy had been standing atop a rooftop somewhere in a city along with his Navi and chatting when Tozukana and Lily entered the spot: Tozukana was joking and Lily was complaining.

"So! Felix Leiter!"

"Qong. Felix Qong."

The guy, Felix Qong, had short brown hair which had been cut into a military haircut but was largely hidden by a grayish cap with no logos on it whatsoever: his eyes were hidden behind a pair of sunglasses too.

He wore a sleeveless camouflage-colored vest over a black long-sleeved shirt plus a pair of jeans.

His gray and brown PET had the golden-colored Alphabet "T" character drawn as emblem surrounded by a black edge.

He carried a sniper rifle which he was aiming with calm and precision towards an apartment building about 300 meters north of his current position.

"Tommy – chan!"

"Tom. My name's Tom, Tozukana, and ya know it."

Tom, Qong's Navi, could easily be around a meter and eighty tall and he had the looks of an assassin to him given his cold scarlet red irises and the total lack of emotion on his face.

Other traits included self-inflicted cuts over his upper chest which looked like a count of victims: a total of 17 cuts had been engraved in there insofar.

His main bodysuit color was gray combined with red armlets around the ankles and wrists: his hands had an extra layer of "skin" colored brown and he also sported a utility belt around the waist set with some grenades and knives on them plus a Makarov pistol.

He was holding a pair of binoculars on his hands and the fund hung from his neck: he looked annoyed at Tozukana's joking.

"… Target spotted." Qong dully announced.

"So! Who is it this time? Heh! Some fatty McDonald's disciple~!" Tozukana giggled as she picked the binoculars from Lily to look.

"Oh come on." Lily fumed.

"Hmpf…" Qong was already aiming.

"Heh. Pierce his belly and the fats will spill out!"

"That ain't funny." Lily complained.

"You know we only use tranquilizer rounds." Tom reminded her.

"What… Ya have no black humor?" She laughed.

"No." Qong drily replied.

"Then cha have _white_ humor! Nyah, hah, hah!"

"Target: neutralized."

"Good. My turn. Computer! Re-spawn the pawn!"

"Unable to process command."

"Wha~t?"

"Reset the simulation. Same settings."

"Roger."

"This Macintosh half-sister!"

"Oh come on. Tozukana. You know this computer only works by tags and it's not an AI." Tom fumed.

"It ain't Janette Doe?" She laughed.

"No." Lily fumed next.

"OK! Fatty – chan! Spill out the vile fats and calories that hamburger filled ya with!" She took aim and grinned.

She shot but the wind was too strong so the bullet got deviated and only hit the wall above the open guillotine window: she got a twitch over the right eye.

"T-this windy jerk!"

"Windy jerk? That's a first." Lily sarcastically told her.

"Why didn't ya warn me the wind was picking up speed?"

"Ya seemed to want to ignore me." She countered.

"Sheesh!"

"Now who's the one rushing it all?" Tom challenged.

"Tommy! Cha go meet Tom-Mama!"

"What the hell?" He cursed.

"Quit." Qong commanded.

"Fine. I know, Felix. Let's go. Good luck, Lily."

"Same to you. Bring some fear to the plebeians."

"Hmpf. Of course."

Tom and Qong left while Tozukana fumed.

"Shake it up!"

"Unable to process command."

"Nya~rth!"

"Ahem, ahem. Reset simulation. Same parameters."

"This Lisa half-sister!"

"When did you get the habit of cursing Apple's computers?"

"When the Moon fell into Clock Town!"

"Not _Mujura's Mask_ again… Why did ya get obsessed with it?"

"Hah! My macho cousin wouldn't let me play it, saying it was for "cool guys"… When the guy got to high school then I was able to play it: and now I'm the Mujura Queen!" She laughed.

"Mujura Queen, how original…" Lily slapped her face in defeat.

"So! Cha new boyfriend is that macho "Burai" guy?"

"Huh? That "Burai" guy? Of course not! He's gotta be over 6 years older than me, I guess." She fumed.

"Gotcha, Goth Mistress!"

"I know I look like a Goth but I ain't a "Mistress" per se."

"Who knows? Maybe ya want to use Tom as your pet?"

"No." She drily sentenced.

"Tee, heh, heh! Alright! This time I win! Fire the firing fires!"

"How silly."

Tozukana shot and met the target: she giggled while Lily glanced at a holographic screen and lifted her eyebrows while forming a smug smile across her face.

"Look at the results screen."

"E~H? Only 45 points! Why did Leiter get 65?"

"You failed twice. And you hit the right shoulder instead of the belly like you intended." She calmly listed.

"T-this rotten apple wannabe!"

"Vermouth?" She asked with a smug smile.

"Nya~rth! I need to blow up the balloon! Musashi! Come show me your moves to pierce balloons!" She improvised some motto.

"Cancel simulation." Lily commanded.

"Roger."

The whole environment slowly faded to reveal how Tozukana and Lily had been standing in a small platform with handrails which hovered over a room having several 3D projectors set on it: the platform had a mechanical arm below it to move it: there was an observation balcony south of them where the entrance was located at.

"Sheesh! I'll remember this, you Mac XL stepsister!"

"Will you quit rambling and do something useful? Like… See. How about you write down the report of our raid into that warehouse the previous day?" Lily suggested.

"Fine! I'll write that report and then I'm gonna cross-interrogate Wan!"

"No good."

"I'll figure that damned woman's perfume and switch them! Hah!"

07:31 AM (Philippines Time)…

"… Kuroban. I'm here. Stick out your armor. It's time to settle our score and there'll be no "matches" this time around."

"Hah! Too bad, punk! Prince – sama left to the Panama base to deal with some stuff! But if ya wanna a battle so badly… Evil Corvus will provide ya with one!"

"Hmpf. Fine. Let the pawns come."

"HEY! We're not pawns!"

"Hmpf. The neophytes, then?"

"T-this PUNK!"

"Less talking. Show me your moves."

"Oh yeah! I'm so gonna beat ya to a pulp!"

A guy had been standing in front of the locked doors of the Philippines island and looking at a balcony overlooking them while calling out: someone else replied from somewhere out of sight.

"So cha are THE Burai!"

"Hmpf. So what?"

Burai wore a helmet which had been painted using a black and red color-scheme: it was a partial guard given how it revealed his hair in its entirety: the hair which was flying straight upwards in a wild and chaotic manner.

The helmet too bore a pair of transparent purple shapes and having the shape of the Alphabet letter "X" which seemed to be layered across his helmet while his throat was guarded by a silver neck-guard, somewhat similar to a gorget: his ear-pads were small greenish domes.

He wore a smooth and plain black cat suit which began at his jaw line with Solo's clothes emblem drawn over his chest while now being colored in a crimson red color: the catsuit ran uninterrupted along each limb until reaching the elbows and knees.

Starting from those spots, and, with the exception of his right arm, they were further covered in solid-looking black armor: and this black armor was further alloyed with a red slotted coil with a single red spine forming around the left wrist plus the feet ankles.

He also bore two knobbed spaulders made of what seemingly was the same material over his shoulders to protect them.

His right arm, by comparison, bore a thick black bracelet circling around the wrist: it turned his right fist and forearm into a mass of burning purple flames the brightness of which was constantly shifting.

He was holding a sword on his right hand which had a reddish hilt with yellowish ends: the blade had an indentation running across most of its height which began as a thin cone-like form, spread into a circle having a greenish dot in the middle, and ended close to the edge: the blade was shaped like a trapeze with diagonal sides and had some grade of thickness to it unlike _katana_ or normal swords.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Evil Corvus is going to rip you to shreds."

"If you can."

"What was THAT?"

Evil Corvus dropped down from the balcony and landed in front of Burai, who was unimpressed.

His helmet's topmost spot had a small diamond-shaped purple piece of armor directly over his head to shield it despite the rear of it being open and unprotected: the dominant color here was a shade of metallic-like gray coloring plus two small parallel lines which looked like a reclined seat symbol when seen from the profile, starting on the forehead's armor lower edge and reaching until the end of the helmet's length.

He had two large wing-like extensions popping out of both sides of the head: a pair of transparent reddish shades protected his eyes.

The chest armor's centermost spot contained the Alphabet initials "EC" painted in blood red color there.

The armor included a partial ring around the base of the neck to shield it and a thin orange stripe signaling the border between the neck's base and the start of the armor: the frontal plate protruded out of it while forming a shape reminiscent of a hexagon yet slightly different at the same time.

The shoulders' armor included orange stripes which got thinner as they headed for the outer edges and two extensions aiming downwards like triangles protecting part of the arms: two small wing-like triangles originated on the eastern and western sides of the shoulders' armor and extended in a diagonal angle.

The forearms and boots design was a total copy of that of the other "Shunoros" members colored on his own shade of gray coloring and having metallic soils on the boots.

"So. This season… Only Kuroban and Gray Thunderbolt are pending showing in their hides…" Burai calmly aimed the sword at him.

"Heh! Yeah! But before ya can meet 'em… Ya will have to heal your pretty armor from by claws! Corvus Claws! Hah! Hrah! Hyah!"

"Hmpf…"

CLONG!

"What the hell!"

"Mu Rejection. It regenerates from time to time."

Evil Corvus drew sharp claws on each hand over each finger and swung SW, SE and upwards yet a round thin energy shield with some runes spinning clockwise along the edge popped out before Burai and blocked the three attacks.

"Damn it. "Fly"!"

"Huh? What's that?"

Evil Corvus snickered and suddenly beat his wings and flew upwards at a mad speed: he then dived for Burai and accelerated to fly past him but ramming into him nevertheless and scratching his chest armor.

"How was that?" He laughed.

"Che. Small tricks… No use!" He grumbled.

He suddenly warped and appeared in the middle of the air to swing the sword and hit Evil Corvus while delivering a blow to his chest with the left fist as well: Evil Corvus cursed something and then his body started to glow: flames sprouted and formed the silhouette of a gigantic bird as he shot forward and hit Burai: the blow did make him lose his hover ability and he was catapulted into the water: he quickly jumped off it while Evil Corvus landed.

"That was "God Bird"!"

"More rip-offs? Can't you lowlifes ever attempt to be original?"

"Who knows, Mr. Guardian Out Of Job?"

"Shut up."

"Hit a vibe~? Heh, heh, heh. Yo and behold! Mr. Guardian Out Of Job!"

"SHUT UP! Flying Knuckles!"

"What! Ugrack!"

Burai formed some copies of his left fist and had them fly across the air to hit Evil Corvus in different spots: he growled and tried to recover but then Burai delivered two punches and one kick to him before ramming with the left shoulder and pushing him into the beach where he skidded a bit across it: Evil Corvus growled and got back to his feet.

"Let's go! "Fury Swipes"! Hrah! Hah! Hyah! Hra~h! Hah!"

"Ugh! Kuh! Grah! Che! Damn! Five in a row!"

Evil Corvus swiped Burai five times from the NE, the NW, the SE, plus the SW and from the bottom to the top of his torso.

"How's that for a counter, you punk? We've trained over and over again and now we don't need the Boundary to fight!"

"Che. Kuroban hasn't wasted the time."

"Prince – sama never wastes the time!" He sneered.

"Whatever. Guess I'm the one who needs some leveling up. Maybe Slur will provide it."

"Yikes! I don't wanna come any closer to that gal."

"Hmpf. So you fear her power, eh, you fool? Good. Fools will always cower before any mighty power… Like you lowlife's companions did in front of Ra Mu… Even you lowlife's precious Gray Thunderbolt… Only Kuroban could face it and be unaffected…" Burai smirked at the guy.

"Heck."

"Yo~… Raib! All's fine with ya~?" Eisei called out through a speaker.

"Gray Thunderbolt. Show your hide."

"Nope. Wait for the next episode. Mr. Director's orders."

"Che. Whatever. I know you lowlife's moves."

"VOMES! The newest sneaker brand!" He laughed.

"Man. That's lame." Evil Corvus sighed.

"What a MEAL I'm gonna devour!" He came up with an anagram.

"Jeez. Just go tell those to Superintendent Oda and leave my sanity in peace, Eisei." Evil Corvus complained.

"Fools. You lowered the guard! "Sword Dance"! "Iai Cut"!"

Burai formed some swords which intercrossed themselves before rushing in with his blade glowing and cutting from the NW to the SE: Evil Corvus howled and warped out of the beach given how the cut had penetrated beyond his armor and cut a grayish t-shirt he had under it and superficially cut his human flesh as well.

"Oh well. Guess I overdid it." He lifted his eyebrows in slight surprise.

"Heh, heh, heh. Evil – chan got cut! Oh the crisis!"

"Che. How plebeian. I'm off."

09:04 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. I finished my patrol and submitted my report so I'll take a while off to listen to the new broadcast with _Noir_ – sama…"

Legato entered the Golden Star Cyber World (which had a main avenue and some Warp Points (ten in total) set to the sides, the north and the south of it: the background had Andy's emblem on it plus the silver-colored letters "GS" over the center of the star.

"They all lead to sub-hubs where you can warp to your room. The one furthest south leads to "Zero", the super-computer, but it's protected by 5 passwords only I or Slur – sama know… Apart from _Noir_ – sama and President Hades, that is… Anyway…"

Legato headed for one Warp Point and got warped to a small square with two Warp Points on it: the left one was labeled "KAGE MIQUEL & ANDY" while the right one was labeled "VP _NOIR_'S ROOM": both were locked with 3 Cyber Doors each but he shrugged and headed for the right one while humming a tune.

"1st password. Hint: hose. Heh! I remember this one. Bomber!"

The door opened and he headed for the second one.

"The joke is taken from another M&F comic titled "Los Bomberos": the pun is that "bombero" usually means "firefighter" but in this case it meant "bomber", as in Bomber Man… There's no word for "bomber" in Spanish hence the pun… And the hose part… Meh! That's because F asked if they had to fight against the firefighters, the hose guys! 2nd password. Hint: Super Man. Heh! Mr. Superintendent AKA Mr. Super! 3rd password. Hint: Rima. It rhymes? No! It's "Irma"! Ms. Irma."

The final door unlocked and he chuckled as he headed for the Warp Point and the doors got re-spawned behind him: this Warp Point led to another Cyber World which had the Toshiba logo in the background.

"_Noir_ – sama's Toshiba laptop… Alright!"

"Legato? Just in time. Come in, come in."

"Roger, sir."

Legato warped out of the Cyber World and materialized inside of a metallic room which had a king-sized bed, a cupboard on the NW corner, a round table with four chairs around it and a shelf with some books on it: the room also had two doors placed on the SE and the west.

"It's about to begin, my fellow conspirer."

"Indeed, sir."

_Noir_ was sitting in one chair and working with the laptop while being seemingly amused: Legato sat down on another chair while _Noir_ inputted some commands.

"… Welcome! Today, in V-B-N… Frankenstein Reborn! I'll be Frankenstein myself!" Video Man announced.

"Heh! _Marchando_! A dog is stepped over a tall bulky guy who heads for a door with a banner… Banner? S. Meralda: Jeweler. He approaches the right index finger to the bell but he presses it with such strength that the wood jumps off! "Dear me! What…? Oh my! What a tall fellow! It's gotta be Robert Redford! Come in, come in!"… It turns out it's our beloved Franky – chan!" Burner Man laughed.

"Shah, shah, shah! The secretary faints! The owner, a short guy, is trying to look atop the safe. "I think I forgot the case atop the safe… Can't see it… Having such a short neck… ARGL! GLGLGL!"… Frank picks the guy and stretches the neck while shoving 'im apart! Picks the safe with one hand and easily throws it into the air as if it was a toy!"

"… "Hop!"… It falls atop Frank's head and the door bends in: he quickly picks up the jewels! "Shining stuff… Lil stones… All for me… Heh, heh!" … "W-what a frightening vision! I'm going to warn the short-necked fellow Boss is… BOSS! A~H!"… "T-that guy! Police! Robbery~!" … "Stop there, my chum! Heh, heh! Let's turn the affair and…! AH! AH! A~H!"… Frank spins the policeman by the cuffs and then shoots him forward thus breaking them! Our hero ends up crashing into a North Pole igloo! "Y-you're not gonna believe this, fella. I'm telling you I was patrolling and…"…"

"Heh, heh, heh." Legato chuckled.

"… Burnin'! "Doctor Bacílez commands that I pick taxi and bring shiny stones. There comes on… HEY! HEY! I pick taxi, like Doctor said… Heh, heh!"… "Hey! Whaddya doin', ya brute? Let go~!"… "Mortadelo~! There's job to do! Where are ya at? Testing some disguise already~?"… "Yes, Boss, the donkey one!"… "Donkey…! Heh! You needn't disguise for that, you acorn!"… "AH! A~G!"… He was disguising as his Boss!"

"So he meant to say that his Boss was a donkey." _Noir_ giggled.

"… Shah! "I'm gonna give you "donkey" disguise! I'm so gonna…!"… "You only stop being pesky! Go get mended with chain-stitch!"… PLONC! "Aha! This fire extinguisher is good to put off youth's burning fire! Alright, get ready and pay attention, there's job to do! The repellent Dr. Bacílez has built a new Frankenstein Monster and it's robbing there and there! It's got incredible strength! Imagine: he stomped Agent Grúllez when he was gonna arrest him! You know the ex-basketball player, 215cm tall… And now he examines footprints without needing to crouch!"… "Grtjx! And to climb the walkway's edge I need climber's gear!"… "So you 2 will continue the mission! Go! Get 'im!"…"

"215cm tall and became just some cm tall! What a cruel fate!"

"Sure, Legato."

"… Video! "Hey, hey! And what if he stomps us?"… "Oh! Don't worry for that: all's been accounted for! Aren't they cute?" … Brings out two miniature coffins, see! "Brrr! I feel like future canned, concentrated and pasteurized meat, even!"… "See, see, the guy's been here!"… "Yes, Mr. Policeman! Not only a brute, a madman! Said this taxi was too slow and he'd pick another! And tossed me here!"… "Can't be too far! I said it, right? There goes the brute!"… "The guy did get to pick another taxi! Heh, heh!"… "Leave it to me!"… "Get me down!"… "Stop there! Leave that taxi now!"… "Well, I leave it, now what?"… The taxi ends up stuck atop the Great Pyramid! … The driver curses and leaves it while climbing down the face of the Great Pyramid!"

"What strength!" Legato grinned.

"Truly. Steroids, maybe?" _Noir_ giggled.

"… Burn! "You're under arrest in the name of the "T. I. A."!" … "Heh, heh! Spliff makes me laugh!"… "Resisting, huh? Eat bullet!"… BANG! The guy had plugged the muzzle by stuffing the index on it! "Why, it's a black cockroach! Heh, heh! I thought it was white worm! Well, I cleanse to remove grime."… "AH! A~H!" … "Then drain well…"… "UA~H!"… "And hang it as an amulet! Heh, heh! Maybe brings luck!"… "Boss is on a pinch: I'm going to give him a hand! Take festival bonfire, you mule!"… "I feel nice heat! Heh, heh! Summer's come!"… "IA~H!"… "Amulet looks like re-burnt cigarette… Get lost!"… "I'm gonna give ya lil flame! I'm gonna give ya lil fire! I'm gonna…!"… "What are you gonna do, Boss? You're more mean-spirited than a staircase's handrail!"…"

"Heh, heh, heh. M's ideas shoot back at him."

"… "I did well on coming over, sure thing! Those two are acting the donkey, as usual! I'll deal with the freak! I'll come closer through the underground gas company tunnel… Come out next to him and shoot an explosive Caliber 72 bullet!"… "The ultimate solution, Boss! Take bomb of some megatons!"… "Agh! How repulsing! Big repulsing microbe! I crush! Take size 58 stomp!"… He crushes the ground and falls into the tunnel below in front of Mr. Super along with the bomb! BOOM!"…"

"Why do they always need to blow up something?" _Noir_ wondered.

"They're like 007."

"… "Mortadelete~! Filemoncillo~!"… "Mr. Super's calling! Do we go?"… "Shaddup and be quite, you bloody scorpion! Drool a bit!"… End of the chapter! Next chapter teaser! Ta-ta-dan!"

"Dan-ta-dan! Shah!"

"Burn! Nad-at-nad!"

"Last! Final! The last!"

"The End's coming! Burning!"

"With his parrot. Shah, shah, shah!"

"Man. What teasing." _Noir_ giggled.

"Truly, sir."

"The Mata-Hari Chapter!"

"Oh. Mata-Hari, the famed WWI age spy…" _Noir_ muttered.

"Intriguing, by Moriarty."

"Isn't it?"

"Look forward to it! V-B-N! Off air!"

"Legato? Are you there?" A voice asked from the PC.

"Ah! Slur – sama. I am coming."

Legato de-materialized and returned into the Cyber World: he saluted at the Navi who had come in.

This Navi could easily be over a meter and eighty tall.

Its helmet design didn't look like a helmet to begin with: the forehead was covered by a diamond-shaped green-colored piece of armor from which two tall and white "antennae" emerged in a 45º inclination: something which looked like a mass of hair colored green formed behind the helmet and expanded downwards in a cone-like manner.

The face's skin was normal and the shape was rather feminine yet a bit androgynous at the same time: the Navi's eye irises were red in color.

Its upper body had a white cloth similar to a sweater with three parallel stripes set on its surface running down its length until it ended half-way across the torso.

The shoulders had greenish four-speared stars built into them and two large white sleeves which extended way past the total length of the arms extended from there: they looked thick and like they had some extra mass inside: they formed shapes reminiscent of the Alphabet "L" character.

The hands emerged from two oval-shaped cavities just where the sleeves formed a 45º turn to aim SW and SE.

They were covered in white "gloves" or "skin" and were currently closed.

The rest of the body was colored green and looked like a one-piece suit extending until the middle half of the upper body: two greenish/yellowish stripes ran down the sides of the torso until the hips.

Two greenish/yellowish diamonds were drawn around the knees followed by oval-shaped patterns which ended in a triangle on the ankle: the Navi didn't have the typical boots and the legs ended like they were pants which were larger than usual.

Some light radiated from the Navi's silhouette and made them stand out while emitting a powerful sensation: their gaze was calm and didn't display any emotion at all.

"What is your command, ma'am?"

"I heard from Alex that Colonel stepped into the Reverse Internet."

"Yes, ma'am. Thunder Man managed to get him to leave by bringing up the threat of some journalist wanting to ill-mouth him."

"Hum. I see. Any traces of other sinners?"

"Eh… Like Bubble Man, you mean? They all seem to go meet in Internet City by now. They must think we won't intercept them there."

"Hmpf. So they've lost some of their so-called "courage"… Fine. Yet do not lower the guard. I can sense peril in the air. I am not sure why but something instinctively tells me so." She warned.

"It could be the case, yes, ma'am." He acknowledged.

"Has Zero reported anything new?"

"His study of the proxy company data only led him to another 3 proxies insofar. He's hoping to find the real conspirers once he cuts through the 3rd layer of deceit."

"And, apart from that?"

"Hmmm… Please wait a minute. I seem to remember something."

"Take your time."

"What was it…? Ah yeah. He'd been keeping some programs to be on the lookout in End Angel's Latvia village in case someone tried to harm them to draw End Angel… And it turns out there was someone who dared to go into the burnt mansion and retrieve the whole stuff in the basement taking profit of the lack of vigilance of the site… That was 3 days ago yet no – one knows where they came from or where they went to."

"No good. That would mean there is a Demon loose out there."

"Or it could be scavengers who thought they could sell this out to someone and get some cash." He offered.

"Good point. Yet only a Demon… Or a female Demon… Would be interested in such artifacts to inflict pain and suffering…"

"True."

"Tell Zero to place some programs there. I want to be up-date: and maybe we should warn End Angel."

"As you command. We don't want someone of his village to suffer: especially now, when they're recovering from a 3-year long depression and tyranny by that Demon."

"Good. Did you hear it, Vice President _Noir_?"

"I did, ma'am. I'll call Zero right away, ma'am."

"Fine. We cannot ignore that happening. It tells me something will happen: do not lower the guard around Andy's companions either. They could be targeted again."

"Please leave it to me." Legato bowed.

Slur nodded and hovered some centimeters over the ground to then enter the Warp Point: Legato quickly began to interact with a holographic screen and input data on it.

"Slur – sama's right. We can't get confident and lower the guard. Or else something grim could happen…"

08:19 AM (Philippines Time)…

"… Man. That Burai jerk… He overdid it! Luckily it was just a superficial cut because the armor and the shirt absorbed much of the blunt… I want the Prince to blow the guy up and erase that smug grin!"

A guy came out of a room while closing a door and into a corridor.

This guy was about Atarasei's age height and had blackish hair was combed in a neat manner and extended until the base of the neck while his eyes' irises were blue in coloring: he looked annoyed.

He wore a grayish sleeveless shirt, jeans and white socks plus a couple of red and blue sneakers.

"Yo! _Danna_! Urateido! Cheer up!"

"Sieg. Easier said than done!"

"Oh come on. Let's not start a yell fight."

"That wasn't my intention…!"

Urateido fumed as Sieg came up from the right side of the corridor: it had some other doors plus a pair of metallic doors with decorative torches set at both sides of them on the south wall: he looked in a foul mood.

"By the way, who was "Mata-Hari", anyway?"

"Meh! Some Dutch dancer gal who picked that name as stage name and went around playing the spy until the French got a hold of it and executed her during WWI. She was no genius, really! She just thought it was a good business and was _amateur_." Urateido shrugged.

"Oho. Intriguing. Guess I'll have to ring up Ms. Wikipedia." Sieg looked amused by the reply.

"Sure, sure."

"I hope you aren't forgetting His orders."

"Huh? Wha! Umisama. Don't look at us like we're trouble. We were just discussing who Mata Hari was to begin with!"

Umisama popped part of his body out from his room in the opposite side and narrowed his eyes as if being suspicious or annoyed.

"Fine."

He closed the door and both sighed: they headed to the entrance of the stairs and climbed them down to get into the beach: they headed for the pier and sat there.

"Ernst isn't here today, right?" Urateido asked in a hushed tone.

"No. I checked."

"Fine. Then we can chat."

"Heh, heh. Your family's porn store was fun… Your mom could teach some lessons to my _ane-ue-sama_ about _dominatrix_…" Sieg whispered to Urateido while checking the surroundings.

"Told ya… What about our dungeon? Whaddya think?"

"Refreshing. Totally. Man. I wanted to feel a real one. That was my fate, ya know. I'm not a coward who runs from his fate. Unlike Leonel."

"Heh. The guy was too meek, or so you say…"

"MEEK! KEME!" A voice laughed over Urateido's PET.

"Eisei, man. Hacking my PET AGAIN?"

"NIGANA!"

"Are you inventing a pun or what?" Sieg sighed.

"Yeah! "Ni gana"! "Doesn't even win"!"

"How devious of ya, _Danna_."

"Heh, heh, heh. Talkin' 'bout dungeons… GUN D EONS… Gun D' Eons!"

"Sell that to the _Star Trek_ guys, man."

"Better! To 343 Industries! For Halo 4!"

"Yeah, yeah. We're still pending to see this year's E3 trailer."

"3-E! EEE! Extremely Exciting Easter!"

"Easter was last month, dude!" Urateido sighed.

"DUDE! EDUD!"

"Edud? What the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Eisei Does Ultimate Dungeon!"

"Oh please. You're starting to become worse than M&F!"

"I feel praised, my fellow conspirers! By Moriarty's stick!"

"Yeah, yeah. Got anything cleverer to tell us or…?" Sieg sighed.

"YEAH! AYEH! Assaulting Yelling Extreme Harrier!"

"Oh please." Both sighed.

"… Gray. What's with this scandal?" Kuroban demanded in an icy tone of voice.

"YIKES! _A-aibou_…! Eh… Just… I got excited and…!"

"… Go. Do. Something. USEFUL!" He snapped.

"R-roger!"

The call got abruptly cut and both guys rolled their eyes out of exasperation at the guy's odd behavior.

"Man. Trouble dropped by." Urateido sighed.

"Yeah… Trouble, alright. With Capital T."

"Whatever. If those lobby jerks try to come for us again we'll beat 'em to an inch of deletion. That should be enough of a lesson for 'em."

"Well said, _Danna_! LOBBY: Liquids Only Bring Belly Yells!"

"Hah! Not bad. We should patent that for some parody or another."

"Glory to Shunoros!"

Both chuckled under their breaths…


	8. Chapter 8: Rumbling thunderbolt

**Chapter 8: Rumbling thunderbolt**

20:40 PM (Japan Time), Monday May the 16th…

"… Rumble! BEMUREL!"

"Sheesh."

"So! Zero! Are ya gonna go catch Giratina?"

"Don't mix me with the 11th movie guy."

"But he was horny!"

"Not my business."

"Nope! Your business is to tell Ookarada he failed the Emperor Exam!"

"I don't need to bother one of Andy's companions."

"I'm gonna make ya eat MUBREL! Mixing Ultimate Belly Rocking Electric Lace!"

"What in the… You need to have your head checked."

"By Dr. Mario~! _Mamma mia_!"

As usual, a couple of Net Navis were having a showdown inside of a large cylindrical tube which stretched both up and down: some energy fields inside formed other small tubes or pipes across which data packages travelled up and down.

"Zero – sama~! Giratina: _get_!"

"Stop mixing me with the M11 guy, I say!"

One of them, named Zero, used crimson red as his main color and his height was about the meter and eighty mark, close if not identical to Slur's own height: his design was rather curious.

His head had a large sapphire-colored dome encompassing it as seen from above: some kind of partial facial protection was built on the front: it was a pair of equally reddish "wings" extending NW and NE followed by two thin parallel fang-like ends running down the sides of the face.

Where the ear-pads would be at, a gray-colored "∅" symbol over a black background was drawn.

His eyes didn't have pupils to them and their irises were a threatening yellowish color: his face's "skin" was metallic in color and he did have a small nose yet his mouth was but a line drawn across it forming a trapeze in the center of the face: it didn't look like it could open and the "breathing" sound was emitted from inside of it.

His upper body had partial chest armor colored red over his blackened "skin" and looked more like a vest than armor: there was an inverted trapeze-shaped opening exposing the base of the neck and the center of the upper chest followed by two round openings in the middle of the chest: the armor ended by drawing a trapeze on its lower edge exposing the "skin" of the waistline: it did form a curve to protect the sides and read parts of the neck too with three small horizontal slits set in a column on the front parts of the neck protection.

The armor over his shoulders appealed as being knives while seen from the front: they had a thin metallic outer edge and the main color on them was red: they were thick and looked strong.

His arms' skin was black in color too while his hands were covered in the usual white "latex" most Navis had: two armlets were attached over the section of his arms extending from the elbows to the top of his hands: each one had a mainly cylindrical form with red and black armor: the black armor was built of a stripped cylinder with the red armor over it: two circular bands kept it on place looping around the elbow and the wrist: the upper part had a diamond-shaped piece over the elbow plus a small sapphire over his hands.

There was a gap around the stomach area which was unshielded in the form of a cross: a pair of white "pants" began on the lower part of that gap and extended until the knees: these "pants" didn't cover the outwards-facing sides of his legs.

His knees had diamond-shaped pieces of armor with a thin vertical stripe across their center protecting them before the boots began.

They were rather plain except for a set of three black bands slightly over the ankles of each foot: the thin soils of the boots were also colored black.

Last of all he had a mass of blonde hair spreading from behind his helmet and stopping inches from his ground: this hair spread open as a cape and ended in six pyramidal gaps between each end.

He had a simplistic sword drawn on his right arm which began with a cylindrical hilt having three circling stripes set on it: the sword was white and looked thick enough despite being somewhat thin.

"Heh, heh, heh! So! I finally get to debut in this season! Gray Thunderbolt – sama's come to PAZ ya! To bring "peace" to ya!"

"Oh come on."

Gray Thunderbolt, a member of "Shunoros", had a largely customized design which deviated from the norm the others followed.

His face's skin color was of a dull olive green – like coloring and a faint black and thin line drawing of an electrical current's spectrum shaped like a triangle formed on the SW and SE corners of his face and climbed past the note until they ended slightly beneath the forehead's helmet edge.

His eyes' irises were blood red in color.

His hair was orange-colored and spread out from behind the helmet in a wild flock manner reaching until the base of his neck.

The helmet's design was peculiar: it had a form seemingly made out of a spheroid's upper half and its main color was gray: the center of it had a drawing which could be interpreted as an arrow pointing downwards which also had two small triangles popping out of the sides: it seen from above and looking from north to south it could be a cutaway silhouette of a tree as well: a golden-colored plain horn formed on the middle of the drawing and aimed upwards.

The ear-pads had two parts: they began as simple gray metallic disks attached half-way between the upper helmet and the sides of the rest of the helmet.

A dome-shaped formation sprouted from there and had a small hole cut atop it.

The sides of the helmet included two slightly curved triangles colored orange spanning past the lower jaw by a few centimeters.

His neck was protected by circular gray bands stacked one atop the other with a total of three plus a wider circle at the base of the neck.

Regarding the chest armor, it could be described as simplistic: the color of choice was gray again and the only noticeable things on it were two cavities cut on the center of it shaped after diamonds: they were red on the inside and there was a very thin black line cutting through them spanning half-way across the chest.

His arms were covered by a peculiar golden armor which seemed to reinforce their strength: each shoulder had a soup bowl – like shape along with the cover set over it: a golden horn spread from the center of the cover.

The armor then continued with a slight division drawn half-way the arm located between the shoulder and the elbow: the elbow segment happened to have a circular piece from which a curved fin aiming towards the shoulder emerged: this elbow armor could be divided in four different segments: the first one was a little piece of golden armor in the form of a circle's lower half.

It was continued by a set of three half-circular metallic bands spreading downwards until the start of the wrist.

A screw bolt's head was set half-way between the lower and upper halves of the elbow armor: a black cross was drawn on it (or rather the grooves where a screw driver would be set at) and a straight black line travelled forward from the eastern edge until the wrist.

The last part of the complicated elbow armor included the aforementioned fin.

A small segment of golden armor covered the little space between the elbow and the wrist.

The wrist and part of the hand were encompassed by one featureless metallic black circle from which his usual five fingers (covered in golden "skin") came out.

The body below the chest armor was rather plain: a central vertical stripe which contained the helmet's pattern towards the end as it reached the waist spot: it was painted gray expect on the outer edges where the color switched to purple and ran down the sides of the body including the inner surface of the legs: the outer surface was colored gray too.

His peculiar boots began just at the knee's height and had a customized design which looked like some attempt at being "futuristic" for some reason or another: their color was gray.

The reason why his boots looked peculiar was because they had a descending triangle-shaped ramp running until the ankles and with three golden buttons set in a vertical manner one atop the other near the end of the piece.

The ankles' armor was built in the manner of three purple trapezes set one over the other: the soil of the boots was also designed to have a trapeze form and painted gray.

There was something which looked a recent addition, though, and that was an emblem on the forehead: gray-colored spheroid of energy with thunderbolts emerging from it and aiming for all eight cardinal directions: its rim was painted in a black color as well.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Tremble! RELBEMT! Reeling! Liquid! Boiling! Earthly! Mutating! Terror!" He made up another crazy joke.

"Huff. Worse than M&F, alright." Zero grimly muttered (his mouth didn't move and the eyes' didn't change but he did sound grim).

"Zero! EROZ! Elevating Rushing Overloading Zone!"

"What in the… This is driving me mad already."

"Let's go~! Heavenly Thunderbolt!"

"Oh heck."

Gray Thunderbolt formed a spheroid of grayish energy between his hands' space and it began to frizzle as it slowly hovered upwards and began to move across the air while making a thunderbolt fall down in a random spot: Gray Thunderbolt smirked and formed two Elec Blades Battle Chips to rush for Zero: Zero formed a Lightning Rod to intercept the thunderbolts and then switched to Bamboo Sword: he ducked and managed to inflict a cut slightly over Gray Thunderbolt's waist area: the guy grumbled and then cancelled his swords.

"You're asking for it! Gemini Thunder!"

"Gemini Thunder? Why not Gray Thunder?" He wondered aloud.

Gray Thunderbolt aimed his arms forward and yellowish electricity began to travel across them to then form up a mass of contained electricity right in front of his hands which was growing by the second.

"Go~!"

"Heck. Dream Aura 1!"

Gray Thunderbolt shot a powerful streak of electricity which blew up the Lightning Rod and hit Zero but his "Dream Aura 1" protected him from the attack: he didn't see one thunderbolt falling from the sky and landing on him thus electrocuting him: he growled something and suddenly dashed forward while drawing two Long Blades.

"Fumikomi Cross!"

"Uack!"

He crossed both of them while forming the shape of the Alphabet "X" letter and Gray Thunderbolt hissed: he suddenly swung to the left and made his right fist frizzle with electricity as he punched Zero's back but he vanished in a cloud of smoke and left a "Pikachuu" plushy on his stead while he jumped into the air and flung 3 _shuriken_ at Gray Thunderbolt: Zero quickly warped before another thunderbolt could fall down from above and hit him.

"I've improved." Zero merely told him.

"T-this JERK! KERJ! Knocking Entrancing Rushing Jeep!"

"Oh come on." Zero sighed.

"Maybe ya need the CKK? Calling Knighting Knights!"

"That's worse than Superintendent Oda, even."

"Heh! Uncle Moriarty's family humor is invincible!"

"Family humor, sure thing…" Zero grumbled.

"No more Mr. Nice! CENI! Congress of Elemental Non Information!"

"Please… Last thing we needed…"

"Heh, heh, heh. Hit a spot, Mr. Anderson?"

"Will you quit it with the nicknames?" He grumbled.

"Will you quit it with the elite names?"

"What elite names? Don't make up stuff outta the blue, man."

"Too bad, NAM! Non Amusing Mannerism!"

"That's it! I'm going to go all out."

"Heh, heh, heh! 'Bout time! Same thin' over 'ere! Let's go! Battle Chip, Plasma Ball 3!"

"Heck. If I get too close that thing's circling plasma ball will hit me over and over again… A living Hell…"

"Heh, heh, heh. Welcome to the living Electrical Hell!"

"How original."

"Isn't it, Mr. Smith?"

"Fumikomizan! Triple Slot In! PA! Zeta Fumikomi!" Zero announced as he prepared to attack.

"Heh! Come!"

"Hra~h!"

Zero began to step forward and slash with the sword several times in a row before Gray Thunderbolt backed up and chuckled.

"Slow! Heavenly Thunderbolt!"

"What? Ugrah!"

"Hah! Take that, Mr. Take!"

"This guy…! You're asking for it, you rascal! Dream Sword! I had it ready on my cache memory!"

Zero grumbled and attacked back with the Dream Sword: Gray Thunderbolt chuckled and made his whole body sparkle and frizzle: he roared as the sphere floating in the air began to make several thunderbolts fall down into him and power him up.

"Fuck." Zero seemed to guess what came next.

"Ultimate Move! Thunder Boom!"

Gray Thunderbolt jumped into the air and formed a bubble of gray energy the outer surface of which was frizzling with electricity: he then dived for Zero and caused an explosion which spread across the area: Zero howled and Gray Thunderbolt laughed as streaks of electricity wildly jumped out from within the explosion.

"Enough." Someone commanded.

A figure quickly cut through the sphere and split it into two to reveal what had been going on inside: Gray Thunderbolt had begun to barrage Zero with his knuckles which had some miniature spears from which electricity emanated: Zero had been pretty damaged by now and forced into a defensive pose but now some strings popped out of nowhere and having some metallic cylinders at their ends had immobilized Gray Thunderbolt and he was trying to pull them.

"Who the fuck!"

"Me."

"Damn it. Slur."

"It would seem Kuroban has not been strict enough with you."

"Sheesh! I'm not _aibou_'s servant!"

"Loopholes shall not save you."

"T-this GAL!"

Slur was the one who'd stopped the fight: she'd descended in front of Zero while having a thin yellowish blade on her hand which she aimed at the ground: she looked dull and indifferent.

"Sorry, Boss… I lowered the guard…" Zero excused himself.

"It matters not. Return to your post." She glanced over her right shoulder at him.

"Roger…"

Zero warped away while Slur set her attention on Gray Thunderbolt who was still cursing and trying to pull the strings.

"Useless. If not even "Barbatos" could break them then you cannot either, Gray Thunderbolt." She dully told him.

"Sheesh! Why did ya get in the midst of our battle?"

"It was not fair. You were plotting to turn it into something one-sided. Like you did to Yamato Man some months ago…"

"Sheesh!" He grumbled.

"I have contacted Kuroban."

"What the…"

"GRAY~!" Kuroban's voice roared over the radio.

"Shit." He cursed under his breath.

"Playing the lowly scoundrel again? By all the… As if keeping that Dullahan idiot in line wasn't enough trouble!"

"Oi! I was just trying to have some thrill!"

"Battles aren't thrill! You stake honor and pride!"

"That was in your ancestors' times, man!"

"I care not! You're a member of Shunoros and you'll fight fair and square: you have too much of a habit to pull tricks! Those other two got some scolding as well. I told you to go do something useful and you sneak into the Golden Star supercomputer just to pick a fight. You're starting to act like a bully." Kuroban fumed.

"ME? A bully?" He gasped.

"Yeah. Come back NOW. Or else…!"

"Sheesh!"

Slur snapped her left hand's fingers and the ropes vanished: Gray Thunderbolt grumbled and fled using the "gateway" system while Slur dully looked on: she fumed and then flew downwards towards the end of the tube: she did spot a recently cut hole in the ground.

"We will need to reinforce security here. We focused it too much around the main entrance but forgot the data reception & emission lanes: I do not want the sinners to ever come any closer than this. Especially that Colonel fool." She muttered with some annoyance.

"Boss? I've dispatched the repair Program – kun guys. They'll be there in 40 seconds' time." Zero reported.

"Good work. Take a rest and tend to your wounds. I will handle the management of the data. Have you gathered further data on the Latvia suspect?" Slur questioned.

"I've got a suspect with name and face and who would have a motive to take that stuff, yeah. Problem is… Their trail vanished in Lisbon."

"Hum. Continue to gather data. Check customs: run face comparisons and try to establish that man's travels. I would not be surprised if they had already come to Japan."

"Roger. We better get a hold of the guy soon or there'll be TROUBLE."

19:52 PM (Philippines Time)…

"… There comes the guy… So, Eisei Aaron… Got the message?"

"GRHCKTGBHDK!"

"What's that? Alien V 2012?"

"Sheesh!"

"I gotta agree with the Prince that you've overdone it more than once."

"Nya~rth! I wanna erase that smug grin from that bitch's face!"

"Who, Slur? The gal mustn't even smile to begin with."

"Urateido! Where's your grin?"

"Dunno. Maybe it went off to the Bahamas."

"Sheesh!"

Urateido had been sitting in the pier and reading a novel titled _Star Wars The Clone Wars: Shatter-point _when Eisei Aaron walked towards him while looking in a foul mood.

The guy was about Urateido's height of meter and seventy more or less.

His approximate age was 16 or 17: his face had a smooth form to it yet his eyes' irises were blood red and his nose had a slightly sharp form.

His green hair was totally messy and grew until the base of the neck while having a purple-colored plastic piece forming an arch starting over the ears and extending backwards but which didn't contribute to keep the shape but rather seemed to be an accessory to appeal as "cool" and fashionable.

His clothing was something rather new and innovative too and seemed to be self-made.

To begin with: his shirt's color was a shade of bright gray and it had a partial vest integrated with it colored using two shades of purple, one brighter and one less bright.

The brighter bands of purple ran across the sleeves starting atop the shoulders and extended until the wrists while also drawing an external edge for the partial torso-only vest.

This vest started at the neck and shoulders but only reached until a third across the height of the upper body: seen from the front it had a form reminiscent of the Alphabet character "U" turned downwards by 180 degrees.

His vest also was innovative in the fact that it included two small yellow squares with what could plastic clips colored orange/red attached to their lower end from below.

His pants were plain and didn't stand out too much save for their purplish coloring and the gray knee protections.

He wore fingerless grayish gloves over his hands as well.

The sneakers, however, were designed to incorporated gray soils into them while the main body was white in color: their design was plain and had no Velcro straps or strings plus a thin yellow stripe running across it climbing upwards as seen from the front edge to then climb downwards.

He lastly carried his silver and purple-colored Link PET with Gray Thunderbolt's drawing on it.

"Have a seat, man. Mata – Hari's coming for your sunglasses."

"Oh yeah? Needle Man tries to pitch himself?" He fumed.

"No. Tozukana the sniper volunteered for the voice acting."

"Sniper voicing a spy, huh?"

Eisei sat down next to Urateido as he placed his PET on the ground between them: a fanfare rang out.

"… Welcome! To the Mata-Hari Chapter! Last of them! Start! Banner: Defense Sub-Secretary. A short guy with silly-looking glasses and who doesn't appeal as too clever comes out carrying a briefcase labeled "top secret"… Burner?"

"Yeah! Continue with the description! A gal with a black night dress plus rings on her wrists and blonde hair waits behind a tree… She has black lipstick on and black mascara too… Tozukana!"

"Heh! The Vile Sniper's turn! "Ah! The famed Defense Sub-Secretary! The splendid! Him! Him in the flesh! I can't believe it! Men like you drive me mad! Tall, strong, broad shoulders, prominent thorax, jet-black hair!"…"

"… Shah, shah, shah! "Well, that's… Ahem! I don't think of me like that yet…"…."

"… "My heart got shocked when spotting you! What handsomeness! What a profound and penetrating sight! Ah! Let me faint for a bit, let me!"…"

"… "Why! I captivate them all!"…"

"… "Oh! With what ease do your strong arms carry me! As if I was a feather! Almost like Super Man carrying his girl!"…"

"… "Y-yes, ma'am, more or less…" …"

"… "I need to have another cigarette before I faint! Will you light it for me, Olympus Giant?"…"

"… "Of… Of course! Heh, heh! That's our duty! Huff! Huff!"… Note: she uses an old-fashioned nozzle and is forcing the guy to jump to light it! "D… Done! Huff! Only I could do it! Ah! I feel the wisps of smoke make your slender body shake while I hear to your singing rhyme and…!"… "HIHIHIA~H!"… "Oi! Take that off Jumencio's nose or I'm gonna twist your face by slapping!"… "HIA~H!"… "DEAR ME! T-the briefcase! It's gone!"…"

"… "Tee, heh, heh! They're the secret USSR plans to strike Andorra with nuclear subs! Worth millions!"… Huh? Isn't Andorra in the Pyrenees?"

"Ah! The joke is that "mountain pass" is named "puerto de montaña" in Spanish and is the same as in a coastal port, so… It's a running joke, ya see." Video Man explained.

"Heh! Not bad."

"Let's keep on!"

"So taking profit of his short-sightedness she placed that into the horse's nose while she picked the briefcase, huh?" Eisei grumbled.

"Heh! Not bad."

"… "What'd you say~? That the top-secret documents' briefcase got stolen? Do you know what'll happen to you, you shitty worm?"… "G-General, sir… I didn't… The ma'am… I…" … He gets to cleanse the floors, see!"

"… "Ah! I can't believe it! It's him! Him! The battlefield hero! General Escorobútez Tripeiro! What a cinema-like name! I dream of you every night! Your thin waist! That Greek athlete pose! That Apollo in the Parnassus profile!"…"

"… "Hum! Lucky me you saw it from the good side else…"…"

"… "I'm sure you handle the sword like D'Artagnan! Why don't you reward me with a demonstration? Let me, let me! I'll hold on the briefcase for you!"…"

"… "But of course! Heh, heh! D'Artagnan compared to me, a mere _navajero_! Look, look at my style! Get ready, you barbarian! Draw your steel… Devil! I cut the cap! Florentine attack! Hop! I shaved half my moustache! Brrr! Sicilian mandible! Hop! Damn it, my uniform! Well, final assault…!"… His sword falls and a worker with a mechanical crushing machine bends it! "Whaddya say, man? I'm working and I don't pay attention to idiocies!"… "Well! What did you think of the exhibit…? Ma'am! Where are you at? Ma'am!"…"

"… "Hah! The "C" Plan of San Marino to invade, occupy subdue Communist Choina! Worth its weight in hake!"…"

"… "What'd you say~? That they stole the top-secret documents' briefcase? Do you know what'll mean for you, fatty cow?"… "M… Mr. Minister, sir… I… The ma'am… The… The…"… To cleanse floors!"

"One after the other!" Needle Man laughed.

"Decapitation?" Eisei wondered.

"Nah. It's just that the higher the rank the biggest the secret stuff."

"… "Ah! If it's Mr. Minister of Armies! The most beautiful! The most juvenile one the nation's ever had!"…"

"… "Yeah… 'Till yesterday he was Minister of Armies but I dunno what the hell happened… You didn't see Mr. President's anger!"… "Mortadelo~! Call from Mr. Super! He wants to meet us ASAP! Where are ya at?" … "Here, Boss! Testing the _llama_ disguise!"… "Disguises, disguises and disguises…! I'm burnt! I'm going to… A~H!"… "But, Boss… Drunk this early in the morning? Didn't I say I was testing the _flame_ disguise?"… "Help! Firemen! I'M BURNIN'!"… "Come on, Boss, cool it! Heh, heh! I had the siphon disguise ready too! Next time you put out the fire crying your eyes out! What a mood, man!"…"

"Aha! Llama means both the animal and "flame"!" Tozukanna laughed.

"… "Sorry to cut your walk short, boys, but we've got urgent job to tackle…"… "A~H!"… "Aha! When you finish saying bye to the girl then pay attention! It's about the latest creation of Dr. Bacílez!"… Note! They fell into a hidden pit which had some gigantic arachnid beast from which they barely escaped! …"

"Why the hell would they have that?" Eisei wondered.

"Deterrent?" Urateido offered.

"… "This time's a copy of the famed spy Mata Hari! She stole the documents of some hi-ranking Defense persons! So search for her and dispatch her somewhat! And excuse me: I've got a VIP visitor! Here I am! Heh, heh! What's my cutie doing?"…"

"… "Waiting for the most Apollonian Superintendent in the world! The most snub nose fellow! The Rodolfo Valentino moustache fello! Heh, heh!"…"

"Heck. She'd already gotten there." Urateido whistled.

"She's got brains."

"Undoubtedly."

"… "Well. We gotta search! Where's the gal at?"… "Elemental, my dear Boss… In the butcher's!"… "I… In the butcher's?"… "Of course! If the washerwoman is on the laundry, the spies will be in the spy-dry! And it's on the butcher's where they splice the veal to sell the sirloin, ribs, tail and…! Well! Go search yourself! Maybe she's in the zoo's louse-dry, where they take out the chimps' louses!"…"

"Man. It's gotta be some complicated Spanish pun."

"Notes! The original used the pun "lavandera – lavadero"… And from there it used "ero" to mark a spot of something… Like "espiazaero"! And then there's a pun with "espiazar" which is splicing! Then M says "espiojadero" as in the spot where the chimps' "piojos" are taken out!"

"Really…"

"… "Why! What a cute fridge Mr. Super has! Go, open it and let's have a bean juice on the rocks!"…"

"… "Hah, hah! How innocent, ma'am! This is not a fridge but the safe with the secret documents, see?"…"

"… "Hmmm! Bad boy, tricking a girl! Tee, heh! Take bad boy, take! Tickle, tickle and tickle!"… She begins tickling his back while she empties the safe, see, guys and gals!"

"… "Hah, hah, hah! Don't tickle me, the navel's creasing! Hah, hah, hah! Heh, heh, heh, heh! Not in my head, you evil girl! Don't tickle my head or my eyebrows become a mess!"… "But, Mr. Super… Are you following some apache Indian ritual? What's that feather in your head?"… "F-feather? What feather? AH! The plans! Hell! She picked all of the secret plans! And she came saying she was a burning admirer, that she wanted my autograph and…!"… "Let me, Mr. Super, let me! I'll trap her! Aha! I still keep the old robot dressed like a Marshal… I'll turn it on and use it to lure her to get more secret plans!"… The gal had put a feather with a stick set so that it'd rub his head!"

"Well. That sounds like a good plan." Eisei muttered.

"What will foil it?" Urateido teased.

"… "Devil! One bill from Mortadelo regarding "hair-growing lotion _a les fines herbs_"… He's gonna hear from me!"…"

"… "Ah! What emotion! It's the great Mortadelo! The "T. I. A." James Bond! Won't you kiss the girl?"…"

"… "You don't ask that, ma'am! To my arms, my dear! Hmmm!"… BLAM! "Mr. Mortadelo! Allow me to tell you that you've got more snout that…!"… "CHUI~CK!"… "AH!"… "Mister, or whatever you are, Mortadelo! I wouldn't have it believed from you! What immorality! What shame!"… "I, I…"… "Hey! Ya saw it? Mortadelita has fallen from the accountant!"… "Oi~gh, what a fella!"… "Bad, bad and triple bad! There!"…"

"… Tee, heh, heh! Bertha here: Ms. Ofelia's voice! "What shame! And I thought he was a normal and straight man!"…"

"Oho. They thought he was _yaoi_!" Urateido grinned.

"Yeah. Guess the guy opened the door and slammed the gal against the wall as he rushed for her. Bad timing."

"… "Starting now I'll dedicate my attention to Mr. Filemón! That's a normal guy… AH! How repulsing! Filemón too! A Marshal sitting on his knees! What's with this house's guys?"…"

"Another misunderstanding, eh?"

"… "…Ah! Here's my hero! My prince! My Sultan! My super-man!"..."

"… "Huff! I'll tell you that some…"…"

"… "Ah! You've got black eyes like a miner's nails! Brilliant and shining hair… Well, at least one in the left ear…. And I think you've got a lil bomb in the secret storage, too, right?"…"

"… "Well, yeah, something devastating, made of plutonium, hydrogen, carbide and megatons, all stored in a very, very small capsule!"… Shah, shah, shah!"

"… "Oh my! Won't you show it to the girl?"…"

"… "Of course! Heh, heh! Wait a min, wait a min!"…"

"… "Mine! Tee, heh! I pick it and place it on the purse and…"…"

"… "Here it is! The capsule's inside! Pity that you need a rather bigger mechanism to detonate it!"… And he brings the biggest bomb ever almost as tall and wide as the room atop a wooden platform with wheels…!"

"…. "Hey! Mr. Filemón! Mission over! The repulsing Dr. Bacílez has been found and arrested when he was trying to create a King-Kong copy! Lucky us we caught him at the start!"… Indeed! Mr. Super brings the guy and a large gorilla hand begins jumping around! "Well. I'll tell Mortadelo. Where's that mole cricket at, anyway?"… "Devil! The Mata Hari! There she is!"… "What are you doing, you mule? Why did you bring the bomb out of the…?"… "The bomb, the bomb, THE BOMB!"… King Kong's hand presses the spear which is the detonator!"

"Why the hell does the "TIA" keep nuclear weapons to begin with?" Eisei cursed.

"Dunno."

"BAOUMMM!"

"They all end up bandaged and in the midst of the desert! With Bacílez having gone mad and trying to improve a monster using a dead lizard, a stick and a wheel! "Yessir! A terrific monster! I made it myself! Hyah, hyah! I'll rule over the Universe!" … "Taking the bomb out the hi-security room…! Placing half of the city in the Kalahari Desert…! The crutch-blow I'm gonna give ya!"… "Allow me firstly, Mr. Super! Allow me!"… "They always pick on me! 'Cause I'm the bald guy! Get your bones melded with black bean chewing gum!"… THE END!"

"… Man! What a crazy end!"

"Crazy sure was but that didn't help my mood." Eisei grumbled.

"Come on! Try to cheer up, man. It's not like it's the world's end! One day we'll go have fun at my place." He whispered the last part.

"Hmpf. If that day ever comes…"

"Oh come on! Don't be so defeatist, man!"

21:21 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Anyway… I'll be on my way back, Mr. President."

"Once again, I am sorry for abusing of your patience and time, Mr. Daikani…"

"Don't worry, sir. I'm used to these."

"Yet…"

"Oh please. It's not like my sons will get frantic either, sir."

"Ah. I apologize."

"No need to, sir."

Hades was standing on the deck and talking to another man who'd climbed into an off-board engine boat which was suspended right over the deck by a pair of cranes.

This man, Daikani, looked on his late fifties, had blackish hair and brownish eye irises.

He wore a simple black suit, a blue tie and pants along with brown shoes.

"Tell Oscar I send my greetings. I heard he'd gone to a mission and then to do something else."

"Of course. Once again…"

"President Hades, sir. You are humble, but I have more experience of life as an office worker. This is usual for me. You needn't feel like you were stealing my time when you requested me to help you out with some bureaucratic documents which had to be dispatched."

"Ah. Thank you very much." He politely bowed.

"See you tomorrow, then."

"Do come at any time, sir. Do not push yourself, sir." Hades politely requested of him.

"That I would like to tell you as well…"

"You do have a point, sir."

"Well then. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, sir."

The cranes slowly arched the boat and then softly lowered it into the water barely two meters below: the hooks got released and the boat turned on to speed away towards the mainland yet it suddenly vanished out of sight.

"It's crossed _Purgatory_'s stealth field… Anyway… Huff. Maybe I should take a break soon. I push myself a lot… But it can't be helped. I must assume my responsibilities as President of Golden Star." He muttered with a sigh.

"President Hades?"

"Ah. Ma'am. Is something the matter?"

"I was going to report something but… I believe it can wait to tomorrow."

"Distressing news?"

"It could become such."

Slur hovered some centimeters over the ground and headed for him: he turned and rubbed his eyes: Slur did show some reticence to tell him as if fearing she would be pushing him.

"I think it'll better tomorrow morning… It's not like it'll become a major problem in 12 hours, right?" Hades barely repressed a yawn.

"Correct. We shall speak tomorrow, sir. I apologize."

"No, no. It is me who shouldn't have pushed it."

Slur merely nodded and hovered away while Hades stretched.

"… I must prove it… That I can escape from my "fate"… The "fate"… Of the "Demon Tribe"… I haven't crossed Time-Space in vain…" He muttered.

_All was for the sake of society… Our work must continue…!_


	9. Chapter 9: Ancient Ones

**Chapter 9: Ancient Ones**

08:18 AM (Philippines Time), Wednesday May the 18th…

"… Eh… _Aibou_? You there?"

"Gray. Did you complete the job I charged you with?"

"Yeah… I got the data on that server thing… And it surprised me as well: who the heck set that up?"

"Someone in the "Seraphs", apparently… But that "someone" has vanished off the radar…"

"… You're going to play it again?"

"What? Ah. The memories of this space-city? Yeah."

"Man. What do you see in them? I know only you, me, and Dullahan know about them yet…"

"A warning. From them to us."

"Not too place too much power in one spot, ya mean?"

"Correct. I'd rather phrase it as "do not give too much power to a heartless entity"…"

Eisei stepped into a stone-built room somewhere which was pretty much unlit yet it was very big: the walls were made of dull brown stone and so were the ground and the ceiling: he found someone in front of him giving him the back and looking at some 3D display.

"I know what power brings along… Temptation, avarice, greed… My Kuroban family has experienced tragedies over and over again over the course of countless generations… And I, Kuroban Howsad, the current living heir… Will make sure to learn from the colossal mistake which almost cost them their life to the "Creators"… Those who granted our civilization with the basis to develop our advanced technology…"

"Man. That display always frightens me ever since we discovered it over a month and a half ago…"

Kuroban Howsad turned around: he was about a meter and eighty tall or taller and he seemed to be on his 20s given what could be seen of his face: he wore armor and helmet over his body.

The helmet design was compact and thick: it included silver plating around the neck and its base, a main purple and black coloring, black shades and a green symbol which looked like a unicursal hexagram colored pale green and having some unknown runes written on its circular edge painted on the forehead.

He wore some curious armor over his body: it was colored with purple tones on the outer edges but black on the center: the same forehead emblem was set on the middle of his chest.

His shoulders were black ellipsoids with purple-colored outer edges and having some other green fluorescent runic symbols drawn over them: his arms "skin" was black in color and the armor over the forearms had an external golden rim from which three parallel golden lines extended until the fingertips.

The feet armor started at the knees and used a tint of purple for the outer edges but the main armor kept on using the black motif: silver-colored lines extended parallel to each other until the feet fingertips.

The unarmored body "skin" was also black in color and had intricate green fluorescent patterns running down its sides, front and rear.

"Net Navis and humans… We can merge those existences…" A crackled voice which sounded like that of an elder man's rang out.

Both focused on the display: it looked like a man dressed with a strange tunic covering the whole of the body and head which had a "arcane" or "alien" look to it: the man could be past his 50s even, and he was surrounded by data: the image flickered: the image then flickered between a man and a Navi resembling Slur: the image was transparent and of a blue color.

"This alien city's systems have been collecting all radio and TV and satellite data Earth has streamed and which have shot past Pluto…"

"I know that, _aibou_… And its central computer has built up an idiom database which goes on updating as more and more data is collected, compressed and stored… To think this was hidden inside of the mountains… These "Creators" start to remind me of the Forerunners…"

"No wonder. This is "Kyutora"… A planet about Mars' size in another region of the Milky Way yet… A Time-Space entrance allows one to reach it by entering the Kuiper Belt past Pluto… That's what we did last summer: we built a space-station with thrusters, entered it, endured cold-sleep and we reached this place in December… Now we can use machines which create Time-Space "tunnels" for instantaneous trip to Earth by exploiting a sub-dimension of Time-Space…" Kuroban shrugged.

"And when ya told Slur… She provided some data… Some coordinates she'd carried along… And something named "Duo's Crest" which apparently is ID data to allow one to interact with the systems here and get free access… But only you, I and "Dullahan" know that by now: the others don't know anything." Eisei muttered.

The image was replaced by another man, younger than the first.

"What this world needs is an existence capable of controlling its chaotic Network." He announced.

"Ours is also chaotic but luckily we don't have the skill or foolishness to build such a thing… Like "it"…" Eisei gulped.

Another man appeared behind them: he looked a bit older.

"Duo shall administer this world's network from outer space." He announced.

"There… "Duo"… The "Cybernetic God"… Shot past Earth 2,350 years ago and is now over 60 light-years from Earth… Luckily enough!" Eisei felt a shudder go down his spine.

"I know, Gray."

"This place gives me the creeps like the Mu Continent."

"Yeah. Luckily there isn't a "Cryptum" containing some ancient being."

"I know. I've read both "Cryptum" and "Primordium"… This reboot of the saga's back-story is deeply interesting. It gives more insight into the Forerunners themselves and the ancient Humans… Plus on the origins of the "Flood"…"

"And with Halo 4 coming out this year, too… I guess there'll be big news on this year's E3 fair…"

"Chut. It's showing up."

"Yikes."

Another image appeared displaying what looked like a rocket: its design was both alien and futuristic.

Some spires retreated around the main body which was cylindrical and it had six small rockets attached on each side.

The other top half looked like a sphere or globe protected by a trapeze-like covering, leaving an opening on the top were a half-cone shape could be seen.

The spacecraft lifted off and its six rockets detached after a while: the main rocket detached once the craft had exited the atmosphere.

The trapeze-like covering split in six pieces and also detached thus revealing the next shape: it resembled a sarcophagus.

It divided in three pieces and the last component was revealed.

The last component had two shapes: three quarters of it had a stalactite form while the other quarter was a pyramid made of various circles piled each on top of the other which turned smaller in size as they reached the top: the first part had a bluish color while the other had a rather gray metallic color.

The object shone and a stream of blue light surrounded it until it assumed the shape of a comet.

"This is it… "Duo's Comet"… The thing which is plunging deeper and deeper into the Milky Way…" Eisei nervously muttered.

"This planet's network has achieved a faulty evolution: a civilization which does not have a reason to exist. I shall remove any Network civilization which is threat to the Universe." An ominous voice echoed out of nowhere: it did sound somewhat masculine yet it lacked any real emotions to begin with.

"The voice of "Duo"…! It's enough to freeze you on the spot."

"I know. No wonder why even Slur feared it."

Some rings of energy appeared and focused on the tip of the comet and a small sphere of energy formed: a beam shot forward while leaving some rings along the way: it hit the side of the planet and a reddish mass engulfed it.

"Worse than the Death Star, even…"

There was an explosion sound, and, although they were surrounded by static, Eisei shielded his eyes.

"Fuck."

The image cleared and they saw a kind of flying city in the shape of a dome.

"This is where we are at." Kuroban reminded him.

"I know."

"The being which we created has… become uncontrollable…! A God…! It has become a Cybernetic God…!" A voice announced.

"Hence the title Slur gave it… The "Creators" came up with it…"

They eyed the city landing within a mountain range in another planet: most of the surrounding area was covered by glaciers and ice.

"Net Navis and humans…! Could we improve those existences…? Are we really a faulty-evolution existence…?" The first man wondered.

"Not really… The problem is that you gave "Duo" too much power and he got "God complex"… And got self-centered as well…"

"Indeed. Hence what I said: giving too much power to a heartless and mechanical existence will bring disgrace…"

The image flickered until it resumed to the one showing one of those men and a Net Navi which were overlapping each other: the Navi vanished and the man fell into his fours while panting heavily.

"The experiments…" Eisei trailed off.

The Navi appeared in front of the man surrounded by a green column of light: it resembled Slur but the main difference was that it had a mask and yellow eyes and its body design was slightly different as well since it seemed to be of a male design instead yet it was androgynous.

"They really designed "gallant" Navis… White, greens, yellows… And those tunic-like bodies… It makes them look advanced, indeed…"

"… Master. It is impossible to push that body further up." The Navi announced.

"I shall not abandon…! The future we all can envision…! It'll definitely come to happen!"

"And this was an attempt to create "Cross Fusion" which Golden Star then perfected… Slur must've known of something and then gave them the idea, I take it…"

"… Yeah... I guess that." Kuroban formed a smug smile, surprisingly enough.

"What's with ya?" Eisei looked nervous.

"Oh don't mind me. Just a fleeing mood."

"If ya say so…"

"Do not throw hope away! Within the future…! Within this world…! Within our own forthcoming fate… We shall engrave our will…!"

The man had tried to stand up only to fall face-down into the ground.

"Master!"

The image was interrupted again: it resumed and it showed a close-up of the Navi.

""Master… I am… Navis who have lost their masters… Cannot exist."

The Navi was deleted right in front of their eyes.

"I do see." A familiar voice rang out.

"YEA~RGH! The Didact! It's come to punish us!" Eisei suddenly jumped off the floor, scared.

"Oh come on! Gray! You've been reading the Halo novels again late at night and now your imagination plays trick on you. That's Slur."

"Wha! You let her come?"

"Of course. To discuss this stuff."

"Indeed."

"I'm outta here~!"

"Oh come on… Gray. You've got a long, long way ahead of you before you can become a mature man. My bad, Slur. Gray can behave like a 10 year old brat from time to time."

"It matters not. Let us get to the point, young Kuroban."

"Sure…"

Slur showed up from the left as the lighting return to normal and the display vanished: now there was a small pinkish/greenish spheroid of energy about 30cm tall floating that same distance from the ground and from Kuroban left there: Eisei had run off towards the south and he'd dropped an USB pen-drive.

"Oh yeah. The data on the Seraph investigation…"

"Seraph investigation?"

"There's something I need to tell you beforehand."

"Go ahead."

"Someone in the Seraphs set up a very well hidden server…"

"What for?" She merely lifted the right eyebrow.

"To store… past Navis' data. And by that I mean… Fire Man, Stone Man, Bomber Man and such… The list is large. It involves those prototype Navis and criminal Navis whom you used 2 years ago."

"Hum. Then it must have been the same we found when we were attempting to rebuild WWW Navis… I tried to find it again with Zero on that summer but it had been moved. Back then I did not pay much attention to it: finishing Zero was our top priority."

"Well then. My own investigations insofar point to someone within the "Seraphs" but it wasn't the top guys. It wasn't the previous leader, either, yet I did find that server and used it to rebuild "Dullahan" and Styx. And then… Plant Man and Beast Man: I assigned the two of them to "Dullahan" for that mission which failed… A little test: it wasn't intended to be serious… But after that the server vanished and I couldn't find it again."

"So someone was controlling who accessed that server and after a while it got moved to make it hard to find…"

"Yeah… It was hidden in a website named "Reverse UN"… Some conspiracy theory page… And if you clicked in the black-stained Earth drawing then you got prompted a username and password… Those are "ruler" and "control"… Once you do that you get access to a "preview" of the server showing the first 5 ones… You want to see more, pay 5000 Z in an anonymous manner using Pay-Pal…"

"Hum. Mercenary server…"

"But Gray snuck inside and could see the whole list. Heck, even Navis you've already rebuilt like Freeze Man or Dark Man are included."

"So the owner doesn't care if the data has already been used: they retain it to create more profit… How much do they ask for one batch?"

"1000000 Z."

"One million? Hmpf. Greedy fools…" She formed a smug smile.

"Totally. It'd seem the pay system is new and was still being implemented when both your org and mine stumbled upon it."

"We were fortunate, then… The problem is… If someone else fins that then they could rebuilt any Navi they'd want to… As far as I remember the data had been assembled in a pretty neat manner… Yet most lacked memory files… That is hard to intercept and keep…"

"Yet Beast Man and Plant Man did remember the past."

"The Plant Man we rebuilt did as well. Somehow he locked out the memory-purge program and got loose. Legato deleted them because they'd gone berserk."

"I know. Well. According to Gray's recent data… Five bunches of data were bought by someone as recently as 3 days ago… Drill Man, Desert Man, Elec Man… Fire Man… And, lastly, Quick Man…"

"Hum. I see. Maybe the "Lobby" is involved."

"Sheesh. Those "lobby" jerks… Making life harder for everyone, trying to smear our names and all… Once we've got enough data of their inner workings then we're going all out and we'll leave them powerless. It's about time those damned fools who toy with fire get the lesson."

"Indeed. These fools may trigger a new era of terrorism even."

"And that won't benefit anyone."

"Of course. Well. Regarding "Duo"… I can try searching for information here… Maybe if we upgraded the "portal" device it could be projected into space and have it expel the comet into the core area of the Milky Way to make sure he'll never reach Earth again."

"I agree with you on that, Slur… You're still keeping the info of our presence here under wraps, right?"

"Save for a very few, yes… And "those very few" only make up 6 humans and Navis in the organization, I included…"

"Good. What about NASA?"

"The 5 men who knew it have kept it quiet. Only 3 men and women in the NSA know it. I am speculating here, but maybe one of the high commands has personally briefed the President into the matter… In short: at the max only 10 humans outside of our org and yours know the truth. The Net Police knows nothing."

"Yeah. It isn't my intention to discredit the ISS program. It's needed if we want to know how human bodies interact to long trips in space: in our case we barely felt it thanks to the "inertial drive" the "Ark" used and our cold-sleep…" Kuroban nodded in agreement.

"Ah yes. I would like of you to help us in searching for a potentially dangerous character… A Latvian…"

"Latvian? Could that be the same man Ernst is trying to find?"

"Here is the data…"

Slur formed an e-mail icon in the air and Kuroban's PET (colored black and white and with his forehead emblem on it) beeped: he read something and slowly nodded in agreement.

"Same man, alright. Be careful. If you thought that the Demon who kept Ernst prisoner for 3 years was enough of a Demon then they're pale compared to this one. We should be fortunate this lesser one never yielded Ernst to that greater Demon out of arrogance and smugness."

"The last thing we need! We are doubling our efforts to locate him: last trail was 3 days ago in Las Vegas. But he could be in Japan already: we must get a hold of them quick before something happens. I have not told any of the agents yet. I do not want to put pressure on them."

"Good. We agree on this. Let's exchange data and try to narrow down this man's location. The sooner the better!" Kuroban suggested.

"That is excellent, young Kuroban. I shall be going back to Earth. There is much work to do."

"Sure thing. I'll contact Ernst to get an update too."

"Let us meet again… And hope we can avoid a tragedy from happening!"

09:50 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hum. Nothing unusual in this level…"

"Fight me."

"Huh? Hum! "Barbatos", was it?"

"You're Yamato Man. Fight me."

"Hmpf! Fine."

A Navi named Yamato Man had been patrolling a level of the Reverse Internet when "Barbatos" called out to him and landed.

Yamato Man was clearly over a meter and eighty tall in height and wore blue-colored _samurai_ armor over his body: it had a golden-colored band around the waist which was divided by several vertical and thin black lines.

His face was colored in a dull gray color: his mouth was a mere line shaped like a trapeze aiming upwards while a small cubical piece was set on his chin as well and his eyes' irises were brown in coloring.

The round shoulders had a yellow band around their half to split into upper and lower portion.

Three rectangle-shaped plaques of armor extended slightly below the shoulder but before the forearm: each forearm was covered in cyan armor plus a yellow ring around the wrist.

The top of the palms had a small dome-shaped yellow-colored object atop them: the arm and hand "skin" was colored black.

Another three layers of armor covered each hip: the pale blue and thick lower body began beneath the torso armor: it ended below the knees from which the feet emerged a piece of armor shaped like the front half of a cylinder covered the black "skin" while the front and rear of each foot were protected by blue armor which had a yellow border: it ended around the ankle and left a small space between each piece.

The neck had a thick yellow metallic band around it which covered all of it expect the front: a _samurai_ helmet covered his head.

A yellow-colored metallic piece shaped like a triangle facing forward was set on his helmet's forehead: there was another above it the shape of which was reminiscent of the Alphabet "V" character.

The chest section of the armor had a circular cavity on it with his drawing set on it: it was a black circle followed by a white space and a second black circle: a black dot was set in the middle and three small lines spread from it until the inner border aiming north, SW and SE: each line had an additional curved line cutting through them near the lower end.

"Hmpf! Such a fool like you can't rival to their power. Out of the way, you fool! "Dullahan" will bring this man down!"

"What? You! You lowlife! I remember you!"

"Huh? What are you talking about? We'd never met."

"Hmpf."

"… Oh? You wouldn't happen to be THAT man… Right?"

"I'm the man! And I've got a score pending with you lowlife…"

"Yamato Man? This is Slur."

"Slur – sama."

"Ignore them. Pull back. There is job to do. Urgent job."

"Roger! By the way, I think I've seen that "Dullahan" man somewhere else time ago…"

"Ah yes. Their real name is… Laser Man."

"Dullahan", the voice that had been challenging "Barbatos", turned out to be Laser Man, who'd taken up a fighting stance while "Barbatos" drew the sword and held it ready: Yamato Man had stepped some paces away when Slur contacted him over the radio: Slur cleared up the real ID of Laser Man and he shrugged.

"I am returning."

"Good."

"Cross Laser!"

"Hah! Sword "Instant"! It deflects it all!"

"Che."

"Die!"

"Star Breaker Laser!"

Laser Man tried to attack while shooting two lasers to form a "cross" shape but "Barbatos" used the sword to deflect both in random angles and directions: Laser Man growled and then aimed skywards while shooting a reddish laser: a rift opened and some burning meteors fell down from above to bombard the ground around "Barbatos" and form Magma Panels: "Barbatos" ignored those and rushed for Laser Man while aiming the sword: Laser Man suddenly brought forth his hands' squares and shot two large bluish laser beams which hit the armor's chest and pushed "Barbatos" back to make him fall into the ground: he growled but then gasped as a vermillion ring of energy expanded from his chest and outwards for an instant: a low-tuned howl could be picked if one paid enough attention as well.

"Shit."

"Hmpf! I see." Laser Man seemed to guess what that was about.

"Shaddup, you damned puppeteer."

"Hmpf! Puppeteer? If I had had such abilities then things would've been easier back then: Styx wouldn't have failed to keep that man's power integrated on him and by now he wouldn't have betrayed our new Master!" He grumbled.

"I dunno what you mean and I don't need to!" "Barbatos" howled as he got back to his feet.

"Fool. Die."

"You die! Destroy Punch!"

"Hmpf! Come! And be destroyed!"

"DIE~!"

"Mega Laser!"

Laser Man aimed both hands forward and began to create an arch of energy flowing between each hand's palms: it gave way to a sphere and then to a large thick beam which hit "Barbatos" on the chest and made some of the armor collapse inwards: two reddish eyes glowed there for a second before the impact made "Barbatos" fall into a Magma Panel which melted part of the armor around the right hip revealing black body "skin" and a thin purple line crossing vertically across the center of it.

"Hmpf!" Laser Man sounded smug.

"Damn you~…"

"Laser Man. Stop the circus. There's job." Kuroban ordered through his radio in an icy tone of voice.

"Huh! Prince, sir…!"

"Don't think I don't know what you just said." He warned.

"I s-shall offer no apologies!" He began to plead.

"Whatever the friggin' ever. Just move your hide over here."

"R-roger, sir. You were lucky, "Barbatos"!"

Laser Man grumbled and stepped into the "portal" behind him as "Barbatos" got to his feet and grumbled: his armor quickly regenerated but not before some "pulsation" rang out: he growled and quickly ran off towards the edge of the platform to drop out: none of them noticed a cloaked figure looking on from above.

"Oh my. That was HIM… And I think I know what was going on." They muttered in a manly voice.

"Oh yeah?" Another man asked.

"Yes, my Master… The Incarnation of Destruction…"

"What the fuck?"

"It would be wise to retreat if we want to pull our strategy."

"Of course. I've got brains. Heh, heh, heh."

The figure escaped the area but had been spotted by End Angel who frowned and seemed to be thinking.

"… That man's voice… Could it be…? Yeah… I'm sure my hunch is on the right track… Then that'd mean… That they're in the nation. And I've got a hunch of who the cloaked Navi is… Those other 5 in the list were red herrings, I guess… Time to report…"

"Stop right there, kiddo! You will hand over the schematics!"

"More proxies? How foolish. Why should a mere field agent like I have the schematics? Do you think the receptionist of an office knows the safe's codes?"

A black Heel Navi showed up behind End Angel while wielding a Vulcan 3 Battle Chip: End Angel merely glanced at the guy over his right shoulder while fuming.

"I don't care! I'll get your Operator's PET!"

"How foolish. You don't know anything. A proxy. A grunt. I'll send you to meet your folk in the Beyond! Hrah!"

"Ugra~h!"

"Hmpf. Fools, the lot of them… Let's go report and try to get a hold of that man's whereabouts or else… Shit."

End Angel turned around in a quick manner and drew his blade which he plunged through the Heel Navi to delete them: he sheathed it and grumbled under his breath while looking annoyed and nervous.

"If the rumors are true… And my memory doesn't fail me… And if the reports are correct… Then… We'd be facing a terrific Demon… Which would make the "Shuuen no Mono" look pale in comparison when it comes to "evil" and "malice"… Shit."

_We better hurry or else…! Someone will be in danger! GREAT DANGER!_


	10. Chapter 10: Latvian's malice

**Chapter 10: Latvian's Malice**

10:03 AM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 21th…

"… Phew. The exams are 3 weeks away and we're wrapping up most of the homework by now… Man! What nerves."

"Of course, Netto – kun… This summer we'll finish middle school and move on into high school in September… Leon – kun will be a bit lonely but I'm sure he'll make new friends along the way…"

"Sure."

"… Huh? Who's there?"

"What's wrong, Saito – niisan?"

"… Nothing. I had the hunch that someone was following us but guess I'm being paranoid…"

"… Or maybe not… Let's keep our guard up…"

"Yeah. We better do."

"I'll turn on the Copy Roid Radar App…"

"Do it."

Netto and Saito had been walking down a street in Akihara Town (both sported their street clothes today) and began to look around in a suspecting manner like they didn't trust their surroundings to be safe to begin with.

"We need Legato." Netto decided.

"I'll call him over. He'll be glad to help. I suspect Mr. Latvian is plotting something, according to Andy's info."

"Heck. We better be on our toes. It'd seem he's got a Navi accomplice and got "Copy Roid" data that those "Sisterhood of Pureness" girls scattered last summer. But all "Copy Roid" are detectable by the app."

"Yeah. In the meanwhile I'll use these…"

"The Viruses from the Virus Breeder, right?"

"Correct. Swording, Sworder, Swortel!"

The 3 types of "Swording" Virus (the Long Sword one, the Flame Sword one and the Aqua Sword one) materialized in the street and they crossed their blades.

"Huh… Guess Legato was inspired and had them copy the 3 Musketeers to begin with… Anyway. Stealth mode! Hover mode! Scan the surroundings: the radar can't see past walls." Saito muttered with some surprise before issuing commands.

"Swo~h!"

The Viruses turned invisible and began to hover in the air: Netto brought out his PET the screen of which horizontally split into 3 to display their vision: each sub-screen had a tag in the NE corner with the Virus' name to ID them.

"Good. Let's get to the square."

"Radar caught something! 75 meters SSE." Saito gasped.

"It's moving?" Netto asked with some angst.

"No."

"Maybe it's waiting to ambush us."

"100% probable." Saito nodded in agreement.

"But it's not in the direction of the plaza."

"No. But it wouldn't be hard to move from one spot to the other in a breeze or use Area Steal."

"Or maybe that signature is a decoy and they're waiting outside of the 100 meter range of the app." Netto warned.

"Could be, too. Let's get to the plaza. It's only 40 meters from here."

"Let's sprint to the spot."

"Sure thing. Legato is on his way here: 90 seconds."

"Good. Let's hope nothing happens in the in-between."

"If any Navi comes too close then the Swording guys should be able to attack them. They're specialized in combining Area Steal with their own swords." Saito muttered.

They began to sprint towards the plaza while Netto kept an eye on his PET's screen and Saito in the radar: nothing was happening insofar and they quickly reached the plaza where some stands had been set at and several products were being sold: people went up and down and both sighed in relief.

"Good. It surely won't dare to act boldly in front of so many witnesses to begin with. Let's sit on that bench over there and wait for Legato to arrive, OK?" Netto suggested.

"Sure."

They sat down on a bench on the west edge of the square: both kept on checking their PETs and didn't pay heed to a silent black van which was slowly driving into the lane behind them: the side-door opened by a fraction in a slow and silent manner.

"Legato will be here in 15 seconds."

"Good. Did you send the Swording to check on the signature?"

"It was a beacon set to emit the same type of signature a Copy Roid would emit: Sworder checked the surroundings but found no-one. Maybe they're hiding close by so Swortel is checking it out."

"Good."

"Another 10 seconds… He found some slight traffic in the route so he's going to make a small detour…"

"Did you recall Swording here already?"

"Yeah. He's orbiting our surroundings. He'll cover our back in another 10 seconds as well." Saito admitted.

It happened without warning: the van began to speed up as the side-door fully opened: a lace flew off and fell into Netto: before he could process what was happening it tightened and he got pulled into the van in a blur: Saito gasped and then a stun grenade got tossed into the ground: it detonated and the momentary flash and bang stunned those closer to it while the van silently sped away: it began to emit pinkish smoke which made people cough and irritated their sight as well.

"What's going on? Saito – kun!"

"T-the van! Chase the damned van! The Latvian, damn it!"

"Fuck."

Legato had shown up on Saito's PET and he managed to utter an order: Legato growled and quickly materialized: he formed a skateboard with a jet engine attached to the underside and turned it on with a remote to shoot on forward.

"Why is it so silent? Ah! Electrical! It's an electrical engine van! It doesn't use fuel." He realized.

He followed the trail of smoke without being affected by it and his shades glowed with a reddish glow.

"It's driving straight forward. Damn it. End Angel and I had almost caught the damned Latvian yesterday when the guy was trying to buy weapons in an illegal black market but the guy gave us slip! I should've realized he'd be coming for Andy – kun's friends!" He growled.

He kept on accelerating and began to see the van driving straight forward while the smoke's density and amount began to decrease.

"It must be a small tank: it must be intended to confuse people as to which direction the van took but they surely didn't include me into the equation to begin with." He muttered.

"Legato? What's going on?" _Noir_ asked.

"_Noir_ – sama! Hikari Jr. has been abducted by the Latvian! I'm chasing the bastard's van!"

"_Merde alons! Moule à gaufres_!"

"I know, sir! I'm close!"

"Shoot their damned wheels!"

"R-roger, sir! Battle Chip, Spiky Boomerang! An edited Boomerang Battle Chip with spikes designed to pierce tires… Go!"

Legato formed a Boomerang with sharp steel spikes on its front edge and shot it: the Battle Chip hit the SE wheel and pierced the tire: it began to leak air and thickness so the van's balance became erratic.

"Man! I'm thick-headed today. Elec Pulse!"

The Elec Pulse's sonic waves made the van frizzle and it suddenly came to a halt: Legato stopped the skateboard and quickly drew a Neo Variable Sword which began to hum.

"Heh! I'll copy Raiden's blade… I can't wait for further news on _Metal Gear Rising Revengeance_… Zan-datsu~!"

He cut the side-door to pieces and jumped in only to gasp: several C4 bomb packages had been set interlinked by wires inside of the van's cargo area.

"_Sayounara_." A voice announced from the control console.

"Fuck! Dematerialize!"

He dematerialized just as the van exploded in a brutal manner which opened a crater in the street and made some layers of the surroundings walls shatter as well as any windows in a 20 meter radius: smoke and fire rose from the remains of the van's frame while Legato materialized again inside of a tree's foliage.

"Fuck. Decoy! The smoke was to confuse us and the real van picked another direction! Ah! The nanomachines, the GPS…!"

"No good! I tracked his signal until a few seconds ago: they'd gotten into a house's garage but then it vanished! The Latvian used a "Dimensional Converter"…! Shit! I'll mobilize Zero! We must locate them!"

10:51 AM (Japan Time)…

BLOF! BLAF!

"Uack!"

"Wakey, wakey."

"The Latvian!"

"Yessir. The Latvian! Russolfd Gorbavtch!"

"Like I care!"

"Stubborn, aren't cha?"

"Fuck you."

"On the contrary."

"Shit."

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Damn. Not that guy too."

Netto woke up when someone slapped his cheeks: he was laying face-up on a bed with a huge man (over a meter and ninety tall) looming over him: he scowled as the man talked in slightly accented English.

Netto realized he was butt naked and his arms had been lifted over his head: they had two leather bracelets on the forearms linked by a three-slab chain.

He also had a thick collar set on his neck as well as some black leather bands going down the sides of his body and then connecting to two circles on his hips.

The cloaked Navi of the other day was standing left to the bed (placed inside of a dusty room made of white tiles and lighted by fluorescent lights) and was chuckling: Netto seemed to recognize who the Navi was and his scowl grew.

"Plant Man. You psycho. Why don't you stay dead you and do us a favor?"

"Heh, heh, heh! It'd seem Fate is being kind with me."

The Navi tossed away the cloak to reveal that he indeed was Plant Man: he looked smug.

"Che. Almost like Ganon: always coming back for more!"

"Heh, heh, heh."

"That guy there… my subordinate. Those Lobby guys gave me access to that server deal when I pad 'em 1 million Z." Gorbatvch laughed.

"Shit. I've read your file."

"Oho. So ya know what is gonna happen?"

"That you'll collapse in pain." Netto directed a glare which could kill at the guy.

"HUH?"

Netto suddenly arched both feet upwards and hit the Gorbatvch's balls: he howled and collapsed so Netto quickly jumped out the bed: he kicked Plant Man's waist and ran for the exit: two weeds suddenly formed out of nowhere and coiled around his ankles, tugging him: he lost balance and met the ground while other weeds began to coil around his body and stop him from moving.

"Hmpf! Foolish human… Underestimating me!"

"Heh! Not bad… This guy's the tough kind… It's funnier to get them though and go on breaking them… I had 6 pets and I managed to break through their stubbornness to have them become perfect pets…" Gorbatvch chuckled as he walked towards Netto.

"Human's ain't pets, you damned psycho."

"Heh! Had I been able to I'd shattered my disciple's pet stubbornness: that's what brought ill luck to my disciple!"

"The guy who ruled over End Angel's village. I know. End Angel dispatched the guy last summer." Netto grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh. So! I've done my research. How do you access the super-computer, the physical real-world thing?" Gorbatvch questioned with a smug grin.

"Hmpf. Only the elite have the passwords."

"Heh! But I know ya know one guy in the nerd band who's buddy-buddy with one of the top."

"It's not "nerd band". It's Golden Star."

"Come on! Even their blog…" Gorbatvch began.

"That's mere misinformation designed for guys like you to fall for." Netto smugly shot back.

"WHAT?"

"I knew it." Plant Man grimly muttered while rolling his eyes.

"Why didn't ya tell me?"

"You shoved it apart, sir." He bowed.

"Fuck. Money and business is one thing but having to decipher misinformation and computer stuff… Huff!" He grumbled.

"So you live in the Stone Ages, huh?" Netto smugly challenged.

"T-this KID!"

"Charmed." He drily replied.

"Enough chit-chat! How do you open the door?"

"You can't. If you don't know the passwords… You need to be allowed into the room from the inside. And the corridor has energy barriers designed to repel guys like Plant Man there. They planned it all."

"Shit."

"And they'll be coming sooner or later… Here."

"Heh! Too bad! There's no signal here! Your GPS doesn't work!"

"Whatever. They'll eventually figure it out. Their super-computer can figure out a lot of stuff."

"Like how big you asshole is?" Gorbatvch taunted.

"Dunno."

"Heh, heh, heh. When it comes to training pets then there's no beating my arts and tools! You'll soon submit to me! And then we'll call over your big bro as well… Heh, heh, heh."

"Bully."

"What?" Gorbatvch grumbled.

"Pick someone of your size."

"Hmpf! That'd be boring. Here's one!"

He suddenly lifted Netto by the weeds, carried him and dropped him atop the bed while picking a 10cm vibrator from a black duffel bag: he turned it on at the "MAX" setting and violently stuffed it into Netto: he hissed, closed his eyes and clenched his teeth.

"Heh, heh, heh. Let the fear begin!"

Gorbatvch then placed a black wool blindfold over Netto's eyes and a ball-gag over his mouth: Netto grumbled something but then Gorbatvch took out a pair of cuffs which he placed in Netto's ankles and a rigid steel bar to keep his legs wide open.

"Heh, heh, heh. Now… The main dish!"

He drew a pair of pliers and attached them to Netto's nipples before linking some wires they had to a device: he turned it on and electricity could be spotted travelling across the wires: Netto arched his body backwards and his cock hardened.

"Heh, heh, heh. Now let's plug this! You... Plant Man. Ready the message to be sent in 4 hours' time."

"Roger."

Gorbatvch kept on rummaging on the bag and drew a small thin black open-able leather collar with some adjustable bands converging in a round black dot on the south: he placed the collar at the base of Netto's cock and tightened it before placing the bands so that they'd grip Netto's balls: he tightened them too and Netto arched.

"Heh! This combo is the best, kid. When my disciple died I knew they'd come for me but I managed to flee with my tricks! I've bid my time and now that everyone's worried 'bout those Lobby guys then I've come to have some fun! Heh! Huh?"

He suddenly turned Netto around to look at his right arm: he had an old bullet wound between the elbow and the wrist.

"Oho. So you've had your baptism of fire, eh, kid? Interestin'!"

He placed Netto face-up again as he drew a thin plastic cylinder with multiple small dots on its surface and a cylindrical base: he placed that inside of Netto's urethra and then secured it with four bands which connected to a small collar: he tied it just below the head and then turned it on and Netto arched even further.

"Heh! This is a special model: it'll keep on rubbing against the insides of your cock and drive you mad! Now let's see… Let's switch the 10cm for the 2cm… Why? 'Cause I've got an 8cm wide cock here… Which I'll stuff into your asshole… Heh, heh, heh!"

He replaced the vibrators and then sat on the bed: he picked Netto and forcibly lowered him into his cock: Netto arched and seemed to be in pain from the sensation.

"Heh, heh, heh. I'll break your stubbornness apart! And then you'll make a good pet! After a while I'll let Plant Man have some fun too… Today will be an unending day!"

"True, my Master." Plant Man came back in while holding Netto's PET.

"Heh, heh, heh. In 4 hours' time… Heh, heh, heh."

"Yes, sir… Rock Man… You will become mine… Heh, heh, heh!"

14:58 PM (Japan Time)…

"… ORIOL! NOTHING?"

"Calm down, Saito! We're doing ALL we can!"

"Try harder!"

"Calm down!"

"HOW THE FUCK AM I SUPPOSED TO?"

"Saito – kun, please…"

"GRTHCKTH!"

"No need for alien, thank you."

Saito was pacing around in an impatient manner inside of a room in _Purgatory_ where Legato and another guy were at.

"Kuroshiro Oriol! Do SOMETHING!"

"I can't just go and knock at doors at random, can I?"

Kuroshiro Oriol ad a youthful face which didn't look like it was older than fifteen or sixteen years old: its profile was plain and wasn't anything out of the ordinary and his eyes' irises were of a navy blue color.

His clothes were quite plain: a black t-shirt, fingerless gloves, jeans with a black leather belt and a pair of black socks coupled with black sneakers.

He was one to two inches taller than Saito and his face was highly reminiscent of that of Kage.

"Fuck! 4 hours! What the fuck is Zero doing?"

"Looking up all weird or odd locales or buildings in the periphery of Densan City or Akihara Town… Plant Man's been detected around that area to begin with so…"

"Fuck."

"Why don't you have some water?"

"I'm not in the mood. Until we find Netto – kun and get him back while he's still sane then I won't stop!"

"I know. Well, Zero?"

"I think I've got a powerful candidate." Zero reported through the open laptop atop the table.

"Tell us."

"Here it is… Old military base… Test site for camouflage technologies: but it was a very small lab… Only 8 employees… Security, though, needs someone in the inside to open up… Like in our case…"

"Any traces of the psycho?" Legato grumbled.

"Plenty. Most recent is 14 hours ago." Zero confirmed.

"Hum. It's a powerful candidate, yes… Seeing how it's built inside of a cave and you need repeaters to get carrier signal inside… If they took them down then it's no wonder the GPS doesn't work." Kuroshiro muttered as he read the files.

"Heck. If only End Angel and I had been able to catch the guy the other day then nothing of this would've happened!" Legato grumbled.

"Enough, Legato. No use crying over spilled milk." Kuroshiro directed a scolding glare.

"I apologize, Oriol – sama." He bowed.

"The other members don't know it, right?" Zero asked in a hushed tone of voice.

"Yeah. Save for Mr. President and Slur – sama…"

"Shit. Why are there such psychos?" Saito cursed.

"The world's gone mad." Kuroshiro sighed.

"Should I go check the situation?" Zero offered.

"No. Send a Mettool. It won't raise the attention."

"Roger."

"Suppose it's the place. What do we do, then?" Saito asked.

"We'll need to bait them into opening the door." Kuroshiro replied.

"Fine. I offer myself as bait, saying I bring Rock Man in my PET, and then you come glued to me using stealth camouflage." Saito nodded in agreement.

"What would I do?" Legato asked.

"Ride in the PET. I can use my cyborg body's "wireless route" from the brain to directly materialize and pretend to faint from the shock of seeing what's going on there. Plant Man will get cocky: you materialize in an invisible manner behind the guy and cut the guy up. You, Oriol, shoot at the Latvian and put the guy to sleep. We'll then toss the guy into the police station."

"Good idea."

"No, it's not an "idea". It's a strategy, Oriol."

"Alright, alright. Calm down. Send the Mettool. Cloaked and silent: it'll figure out if that's the right place."

"Roger." Zero acknowledged.

He departed the screen just as Saito's PET beeped: he gasped and got into a corner so that no-one else would be seen by the camera once he replied to the call.

"Them!" He hissed.

"Legato! Activate the tracking program!" Kuroshiro whispered.

"Roger, sir. Program: activated."

"Heh, heh, heh."

"Plant Man! You lowlife! Where's my brother?"

"Don't worry! He's still alive… for the time being, that is."

"What do you want? Codes?"

"That, and Rock Man."

"Che! Fine!" He played the defeated.

"Heh, heh, heh. Good, good! Let the despair consume you, human!"

"Just tell me the damned place." He growled.

"These are the coordinates! I'll be waiting! Heh, heh, heh!"

"Damn. He cut." Saito hissed.

"No worries. We figured out his carrier signal: it's on the spot Zero's sent the Virus, alright. Let's get ready. I'll put on the "Kage Miquel" clothes to continue with the illusion." Kuroshiro headed for the cupboard and opened it up.

"Good. I'll input some recordings in the PET to make it look like Rock Man's inside when seen from a distance." Saito nodded.

"4 hours…! Will he be sane?" Legato grimly wondered.

"He will! He's got a strong will! He's not the hero who saved the world in vain, Legato!" Saito snapped.

"I'm sorry, Saito – kun. I shouldn't have said that but one can't avoid being pessimistic from time to time."

"Legato's right. One must sometimes be realistic and consider all outcomes, even the grim ones."

"Shit. The jerk even sent compressed video data. He's been raping Netto – kun with his damned weeds! The tentacle _yaoi_ freak! We must find that damned server and destroy it so that no – one can ever revive the freak anymore!" Saito growled.

"Shit. The Latvian must be one thing but being raped by that bastard as well… Even you ended up in a half-paralyzed state, 2 years ago!" Legato growled.

"I know…! We gotta hurry!"

"I'm on it!"

Kuroshiro put on the bandana, the coat and the sunglasses to assume the looks of Kage: he then picked a small device and turned it on to become invisible to sight.

"Good. The stealth camouflage works as it should."

He cancelled it and drew a Beretta M92F from his pocket: he checked its chamber and put the safety on before pocketing it again and nodding at the other two.

"Enough rounds to knock 10 of them."

"Good. Zero. What's the status?"

"The Mettool wasn't able to figure out anything of what was going on in the inside but at least we've confirmed Plant Man's presence there, beyond the main Cyber World door." Zero returned into the laptop to report.

"Good. Just in case… Get there and be ready to sneak in. Maybe we can get Plant Man's attention elsewhere by projecting a hologram of End Angel and making it look like he's going to strike the guy: that window of doubt should be enough for Legato to cut them up."

"Delighted."

"Go there ahead of us: we'll be coming ASAP using the "Dimensional Converter"…"

"Don't do anything reckless, you guys."

"I know." Legato calmly nodded in understanding.

"Start up, "Dimensional Converter"! I already inputted the destination coordinates. This ends now." Kuroshiro announced.

"Netto – kun…! Be strong!"

"Let's go!"

"Let's show them Golden Star's anger! Be crushed by it! You fool!"


	11. Chapter 11: Cut 'n slice

**Chapter 11: Cut 'n slice**

15:16 PM (Japan Time), Saturday May the 21st…

"… Good. We're 100 meters from the base, turning the curve… Time to get invisible. We can't be seen from here."

"I know. I'm going into the PET, sir."

"Good. I'm ready to play my part too."

"Zero's on standby, too, ready to pull the distraction."

"Kage", Legato and Saito appeared in a paved road which drew a curve along an extension of a tall mountain to their left: to the right there was the road's safety fence and they could see a winding mountain road heading towards the east, towards the plains: Akihara Town could be seen from there too.

"De-materialize."

"Stealth: on."

Legato de-materialized while "Kage" became invisible: Saito merely nodded and turned the curve to spot the entrance to a cave which had an open garage shutter inside: he crossed a large parking ground illuminated by fluorescent tubes and reached two armored doors which were locked and had a CCTV camera over the entrance: Saito merely looked up at it with pure annoyance and appealing as indifferent.

"Plant Man. You lame Ra's al Ghul follower. Open up or I'm going to bring a Vietnam War napalm flamethrower to melt this door and burn you up to a crisp. Too bad, though. Then Hinoken would say that Flame Man and only Flame Man is worthy of burning things to a crisp." He improvised a speech to taunt the guy.

"Hmpf! You've got some courage, eh, human? Where's Rock Man?" His voice rang out through a speaker.

"In the PET. Where else? In the Bat-Cave?"

"Hmpf! I want to hear to him."

Saito shrugged and inputted some commands: a full-size holographic image of Rock Man formed and he looked like he was burning with anger and hatred.

"Plant Man! You lowlife! Show your hide! Fight like a man!"

"Maybe I'm a plant instead." He laughed at his joke.

"You fucking coward."

"All's fair in war!"

"This ain't a war. You want a war? Go to the Middle East. Praying Mantis is going to teach you a lot about what a 21st century war is." Rock Man growled and drew the Rock Buster.

"Heh, heh, heh. Yes… That makes me feel more eager… Eager to tear apart your resistance and seduce you…"

The doors buzzed and opened inwards: Saito and "Rock Man" stepped inside and they closed 10 seconds later: Saito merely shrugged his shoulders and walked past the small hall which had a clerk's counter and a cupboard: there was a normal wooden door which was ajar and led to a corridor with a total of 8 doors (the one he'd come in, 3 per side and one at the end) set on it: Plant Man was standing before the last door, which was ajar: some chuckling rang out from there.

"Have a look!" He invited.

He stepped to the right and both walked towards there: they gasped in a simultaneous manner when they saw how Netto was standing on his feet because his armlets had a chain pulling upwards and linked to the ceiling: Gorbatvch was laughing as he whipped his back with a nine-o'-tails: Saito began to step back and lose balance before he collapsed and his PET hit the ground: the hologram flickered and vanished and then the solid Rock Man came out while being surrounded by the flames of a Salamander Battle Chip: Plant Man grimaced and recoiled.

"I'm not going to fall into your vines so easily! Not without a fight!"

"Hmpf! Then how's this? Bubble Side!"

"What!"

The Bubble Side hit the flames and it was instantly boiled into steam: Plant Man chuckled but then some beams of golden energy began to fall around him drawing a circle: there was the beating of wings and the steam was dissipated in part to reveal End Angel.

"Y-you're…!"

"Judgment!"

He lifted his sword upwards as more beams of energy fell one after the other: Plant Man growled and didn't notice a figure creeping towards him from the rear.

"DIE~!"

"What!"

Legato became visible and began to swing his sword at a mad speed and in varying angles: Plant Man began to be cut up and he gasped in horror as the portions began to slowly separate from his body.

"NO~!"

He blew up and the explosion's shockwave pushed all steam away: Rock Man had vanished and Saito was back on his feet: the sound of a gun being armed rang out.

"Game Over, Lucy." "Kage" coolly announced.

Both looked over there to see that "Kage" had sneaked behind Gorbatvch and was aiming the gun from a close distance to his neck: Gorbatvch gasped and looked over his right shoulder in disbelief.

"I-impossible! My perfect plan…!"

"Perfect? There's no such thing as perfect, foolish human. The only spot you're going to is JAIL!"

PLOP!

"U-uh… Uh…"

SLAM!

"Netto – kun!"

"Quick!"

"I'll keep watch."

"Kage" rushed to Netto's front and he and Saito quickly cut those leather bands with small knives: Saito pulled out the thing in Netto's urethra and he violently began to spasm before he released a shower of his white stuff while arching forward and back: he finally stopped after one or two minutes and looked extremely tired: he hung his head down as both rushed to take out his blindfold and ball-gag: he'd fainted.

"Hell." Saito hissed.

"Let's hope we made it on time!" Legato growled.

"Did we succeed?" Zero asked from the PET "Kage" had.

"Yeah. You can go back already. Thanks, Zero."

"It's nothing. I just want to be helpful."

"This is Top-Secret." "Kage" reminded him.

"Don't worry. I'm used to keeping secrets. If we've kept the stuff about Planet "Kyutora" secret ever since some months ago… I'm going back to my post… What should we tell Slur – sama?"

"I'll personally write a report."

"Good. Tell me if Hikari Jr. recovers."

"Yeah. Of course."

Zero warped out of the PET while "Kage" and Saito took out the whole stuff Netto had on him: Saito carefully picked him by passing his arms beneath his shoulders: "Kage" spotted a box with Netto's clothes wildly tossed inside and he picked them: he began to dress Netto as Legato held the gun and kept it aimed at the back of Gorbatvch's neck as the guy lay face-down on the ground.

"Let's go straight to _Purgatory_. Legato! Keep watch as the police come to wrap up the stuff. This guy committed home terrorism so the normal police will handle the guy's sentence." "Kage" commanded while grumbling aloud.

"Roger, sir!"

"Netto – kun…! You're strong…! Tell me you've made it through… You made it through that one year I was MIA, after the Super Cybeast's destruction… Which I frankly don't remember anything about… Guess my Navi body was horribly damaged and some instinct led me to seek a safe spot for my body to auto-heal…" Saito muttered.

"Let's not think about grim stuff, Saito. We must try to be optimistic and be on his side to try to cheer him up."

"I know."

"Kage" finished adjust Netto's bandana and softly caressed his jaw while sighing and looking worried.

"Sorry for returning so suddenly, but… Some Navi managed to sneak into one of the tubes during 57 seconds and then fled… The signature was nothing out of the ordinary, so it had to be a pretty vulgar Navi but nevertheless… I feel like it's not your everyday idiot." Zero suddenly reported as he showed up on the PET "Kage" had.

"What? I don't think it's the Lobby guys." "Kage" gasped.

"They couldn't intercept any data but my gut tells me they'd just come to recon the area and get an idea of security."

"We'll discuss that later on. Now we need to get back to _Purgatory_ and have some rest. Today's been a hysteria-driven day."

"OK."

"I'll come once the police take this fool away."

"DC: Activate!"

"Next stop… _Purgatory_!"

19:52 PM (Japan Time)…

"… U-unh… Guh… Ugrh… P-painful… The pain…! I can't escape… from the pain…! I'm wrecked…! Fuck…!"

"Netto – kun?"

"Ugh… Sh… Saito… niisan…?"

"Yeah. It's me. Calm down. You're out of danger."

"Fuck…! What the fuck took you so long?"

"It wasn't easy figuring out the place: there were several decoys there and there to begin with."

"Idiot's excuses!"

"Oh come on! We came to save you and I risked myself playing bait to distract the psycho guy and that's how you thank me?"

"Like I knew!"

"Now, now! Netto – kun. Please calm down."

"Hmpf! Oriol."

"What's wrong with you?"

"Everything is, man. Can't you see that? I've always been wrong!"

"Wrong… In what sense?"

Netto (having been changed into bluish pajamas) began to stir and slowly woke up while being in Kuroshiro's room king-sized bed: Saito had been sitting in a chair next to him but Netto only began to lash out at him and Kuroshiro as he stepped back in.

"I always bring disgraces to others."

"Oh come on! You're not going to tell me you're going to take those cowards' talk literally." Saito grumbled.

"I save the world and what do I get in exchange? Blows and rape!"

"Now, Netto – kun! You're feeling disgusted at what happening but it's no good to lash it out on us."

"Shaddup. You can't even imagine what those endless hours were like: raped by that giant and by the plant hybrid…! I was gonna go mad there, so mad that you'd have to close me in the asylum!"

"That's not true. You've got a strong will."

"Strong will? Hah! Mere fool's illusion."

"You're not being reasonable."

"I don't need to, you hybrid lookalike!"

"What was that?" Saito got annoyed.

"That's it! You're but an imitator! Saito – niisan died 10 years ago!"

"I'm Saito."

"No, you're not! You're a poor copy Papa made out of desperation and not wanting to accept reality!"

"You're disgusted with yourself and shocked. Lashing out at others while blurting random stuff won't heal that."

"I don't need to heal! I'm scarred for life!"

"And what would've happened if they'd picked someone else like, for example, Tooru – kun?"

"… Shit." He made a scowl.

"See? At least you've got a strong will and you were able to overcome that: like Ernst!"

"The guy should've caught that fatty-belly DAYS ago!"

"It's not his fault that they got away."

"Oh yeah! It's his rusted wings' fault!"

"And Legato is to blame too or what?"

"Of course!"

"He's not. Now go nap. You'll feel better tomorrow."

"Hmpf! Tomorrow Always Lies! I don't want you any closer, Oriol! Go sleep with your aunt!"

He pulled the covers over him and growled: Kuroshiro sighed and rolled his eyes.

"What do we do?" He asked Saito.

"Meh. I'll pick one of the empty rooms. You use the adjacent room: Legato tends to sleep in the PET so…"

"Alright."

"The shock was too much for him. That's all. He'll have forgotten this discussion by tomorrow."

"If you say so…"

Saito calmly left the room while Kuroshiro picked the laptop and walked out through a connecting corridor which had two doors at the left and the right respectively labeled "TOILETS" and "SHOWERS": he came out into an almost identical bedroom and sat on the table next to the desk to begin working with the laptop.

"Netto – kun… I know we've had sex plenty of times over these 4 years we've known each other… And we've played "friendly" S&M but… He couldn't have been ready for such cruelty… Those tools were frightening and I'm sure his body will ache for days on end… I feel guilty not having been able to get there sooner… But I don't want this incident to end our relationship… I'm the one who infused you new life and energy after the incident back then… I played "Kage Miquel" for one school year and then the deceit was laid… So that I could bestow that persona into you and you could be a member of Golden Star… And continue fighting for society but in a lesser and quieter scale…" He began to mutter aloud.

"Oriol – sama, sir. The police captured the criminal and they've placed them in preventive prison for the time being."

Legato materialized to Kuroshiro's right and saluted: Kuroshiro turned serious and turned the chair to the right to face him.

"What about the intruder?" He questioned.

"A gray-colored Heel Navi who spoke like an old man…" Legato described to him.

"Hum. I see." He rubbed his chin.

"But that dialect could be misinformation."

"And so could the appearance be…"

"Indeed, sir."

"In short: we're stuck."

"Sadly enough, sir…" Legato admitted with a sigh.

"Fine. We'll deal with that when the time comes. Don't go into the other room: Netto – kun is still angered at the whole deal and is lashing out at everyone."

"Understood, sir."

"VP – sama?" Video Man called out through the PC.

"I guess something happened." Kuroshiro guessed.

"Yes, sir, else I wouldn't be bothering you, sir… It's "Barbatos"…"

"He tried to hack into the blog's server?"

"No, the Content Manager… In short: the Word-Press control panel of the blog… He left a message…"

"How civilized from his part." Kuroshiro sarcastically muttered.

"Here it is, sir…"

"… "That smug kid will be beaten by my absolute POWER!"… As expected of the guy: he never learns the lesson. Meh. As long as they remain in that state then it's no problem to let them loose." He shrugged.

"Indeed, sir."

"You've done well. Delete it."

"By your will, sir."

"By the way… What's the next album?"

"Ah! True, sir… "The Atomic Sulfate"…"

"Ah. That sounds like fun. Any sneak whispers?" He got in the mood.

"Hmmm… Yes, sir… I'll quote one line from memory… "…so it's our duty to destroy it!"… "Well. Throw it into the ocean and that's it."… "That's it! Into the ocean, invention and inventor!"…"

"That last line sounds like Mortadelo. Guess it's another gizmo by Bacterio which went berserk or got stolen." Kuroshiro giggled.

"Truly, sir! This is the very first long-spanning adventure album, published in 1968… Up until then it'd been short stories a few pages long…" He chuckled.

"Heh. Sounds like fun."

"… "We could have a better locale, couldn't we?"… "Security goes first, you know! This door is forged with a super-steel plate and the lock is lock-pick-proof. No-one outside the org can come in!"… BOOM! "BOSS! What ha… A~H!"… BAUM! "T-they've robbed the elevator… The thieves must've come in during the night! Well, let's go! Mr. Super's waitin'! Mr. Super! Do you know that they've stolen the… the…?"… "YES, I DO! BLOODY…!"…"

"Heh! Lock-pick-proof and even so they opened it and stole the elevator, huh? Guess it's supposed to be deterrent and in truth it's a mere lock to begin with."

"Guess so! They hit the ground head-first!"

"Good… Anyway… You can go back and begin to work on that."

"Delighted, sir!"

"Phew. Let's hope tomorrow will be a better day…!"

10:40 AM (Philippines Time), Sunday May the 22nd…

"… Prince, sir?"

"Ah. Ernst. Come in."

"I've got news."

"Regarding the Latvian?"

"Yes, sir. They arrested them yesterday afternoon."

"And the exploding van was their handiwork, then?"

"Yes, sir. Unmistakably."

Ernst stepped into a small room which had a red carpet leading to a black onyx platform with two steps: a throne had been built there and Kuroban was sitting on it while looking at some schematics using a holographic screen.

"Have those 3 behaved?"

"For the time being… It'd seem they're afraid of invoking your anger again, sir. Yet… It'd seem that that heiress is pulling pranks again."

"Ayanokouji, huh... That child should remember their place."

"I know, sir. It strikes as odd: I thought their father was working on it."

"Maybe he had some duties to attend to and she used the window."

"Ah. Then it makes sense, sir… However… The Latvian had managed to rebuild Plant Man… And both of them…" He trailed off as his glare began to sparkle with anger and his voice turned cooler.

"… They attacked Hikari Netto?"

"Yes, sir… It took GS 4 hours to find them but they deleted Plant Man and let the police capture the man…"

"What happened to Hikari Netto?"

"According to Legato… He survived the ordeal…"

"Without sequels?"

"No. I was skeptical of it so Legato admitted that he's seemingly started to lash out at others."

"Self-centered…" Kuroban muttered and trailed off.

"Eh… Prince, sir?"

"Huh? Ah! My bad. I was remembering something else. Well. Let's hope he gets over that. It'd be a shame for a man as strong as him to fall down consumed by anger…"

"True, sir. He did save the world in exchange for nothing, sir."

"Indeed. Well. Keep this under wraps. Between you and me."

"As you command, sir."

"Did you see Dullahan… I mean, did you see Laser Man around?"

"He's tending to the robot as per your orders, sir."

"Fine. As long as he doesn't go off on his own sans my permit…"

"By the way, sir… The "Ark" is still orbiting "Kyutora", right?"

"Yeah. Of course. The maintenance Navis do maintenance once a month to ensure it doesn't break down."

"No, it's nothing… I was curious, sir."

"Alright. You know that you have my consent to go to your village every time you want to, Ernst. Now that this affair is wrapped up… Those Lobby fools are nothing to worry about. I stirred up some in-fighting by spreading rumors and misinformation…"

"Brilliant, sir. We'd be better off without such fools, sir."

"Of course. You're dismissed."

"By your will, sir."

Ernst came out and Kuroban sighed as he stretched in the throne.

"I better go have some air in the beach. The revising of the new security sensors I want to install can wait a while."

He closed down the screen and walked outside of the room into the corridor: he then walked down the stairs and into the beach: the pier had Umisama there who was reading what seemed to be a digital newspaper over the holographic screen.

"Any news, Umisama?"

"Huh! Prince, sir! Nothing extraordinary, sir… The usual political tensions and all…"

"Alright. Ah. Good breeze. I missed it. Guess I spend too much time indoors and I should enjoy more time outdoors…"

"True, sir. By the way: I found "Barbatos" yesterday evening."

"Hum. Did he display any special techniques?"

"He'd learnt some Program Advances, the basic ones…"

"Like Hyper Burst and Dream Sword?"

"Yes, sir. It'd seem he's been peeking into Net Battle boards to try to get strategies from there."

"Hum. Alright. That man's no threat as of yet… But we can't lower the guard around them. By the way: remember that I don't want you to use those "Ultimate Moves" anymore. They're too one-sided."

"R-roger, sir."

"Good. We will save those for special occasions but when it comes to Golden Start or the Cyber CID then you fight with your potential and your strategies. You all try to rush the battles too much this season." Kuroban warned him.

"Well… yes, sir…"

"Fine. I'll go patrol the perimeter."

"Roger, sir."

Kuroban began to circle the island and suddenly found the remains of a glass bottle which had been thrown against the wall to shatter: a piece of paper protected by a hermetic plastic bag was lying in the sand so he crouched, picked it and looked at it.

"How odd. This seems to be some kind of cipher… And I've got the feeling that I've seen it somewhere before… Guess I'll have to post a photo somewhere using a nickname and ask if anyone can recognize this. Yet it seems to be intended for us… A guy that wants to link us to some conspiracy theory or what? Whatever."

He picked it and walked away while checking the sea but he spotted nothing out of the ordinary: he suddenly stopped on his tracks and turned around just in time to see a diver emerging from the water, opening a hermetic case, and drawing a machinegun which began to shoot towards Kuroban.

"Aristeros Shield!"

A white shield with his chest emblem's symbols engraved along its rim and having a 3-layered drawing of the crest appeared on Kuroban's left arm: he used it to bounce off all bullets.

"Umisama! Denpa – Henkan!" He called.

There was a sound and then Blue Wave emerged from the water behind the diver: he kicked the case and the machinegun away from the diver and then gripped his vest to pull him out of the water by using some jets on the soils of his boots.

"Speak!"

There was a sudden bright while flash and when it cleared the guy was gone: Blue Wave cursed under his breath.

"They used a "DC" to escape, my Prince!" He reported with a snarl but bowing nevertheless.

"They're no grunt, then, and no Lobby proxy."

"The server's owner?"

"Could be. Or someone employed by the owner, monitored and then rescued. A coward." Kuroban calmly suggested.

"Truly, sir."

"What happened?" Eisei turned the curve from the left.

"Someone, a diver, tried to assault me with a machinegun. When Blue Wave was about to capture them, they escaped."

"Ah! They forgot the case and the weapon. But I don't think they'll us much: maybe they were carried by gloved hands all along. And the weapon could be from some faraway country to begin with. The case seems to be pretty common." Blue Wave pulled them out of the water and landed on the beach.

"Yet… Even a diver can't swim a long distance from the closest island to here given the sea-currents… So they must have a boat parked just beyond the horizon." Kuroban guessed.

"Want me to check it out?"

"Go."

Blue Wave rushed away by flying over the waves and Eisei sighed in relief: he began to look at the case and the weapon and frowned as he spotted something on it.

"Eight of Franklin Square… It's written on the case's left side…"

"Eight of Franklin Square? Franklin Square… Wasn't that in Washington?"

"I think so… Lemme check with my PET… Yeah… There's a temple built by some order named "The Shiners"…"

"Hmpf… More conspiracy theories… I'm fed up with those."

"There was a boat but it's fled pretty quickly... I don't think they'll be coming back for more, though." Blue Wave returned.

"Of course not…" Eisei shrugged.

_Hmpf… Mere plebeian fools… You will feel Shunoros' wrath…!_


	12. Chapter 12: Controller

**Chapter 12: Controller**

09:03 AM (Japan Time), Tuesday May the 24th…

"… Huff. I can't shake it off."

"Hikari – hakase, sir?"

"Ah. Obihiro – kun."

"It's about Netto – kun, right?"

"Yeah. No matter how much I try he now barely speaks to anyone and even sleeps on the living room's sofa to not to have to share the room with Saito. He pretends there's no – one."

"I guess something must've happened."

"Of course. But Saito looks like he feels guilty by that, too. I'm not sure why. I tried asking Kuroshiro – kun but he seemed to be doubting. He did say he had no intention of lying or hiding but he didn't think it'd do anything good."

"It's a pity, really… He's always so energetic and so and now…"

"Yeah. Huff. I can barely focus on my job as a result."

"Anyone would be unable to, sir."

Yuuichirou had been working on his Science Labs office and he paused while sighing and looking depressed: Obihiro came in and looked worried as well: Yuuichirou turned his chair to the right to speak with him but it didn't help improve the mood.

"Maybe it has some relation to the incident in Saturday?"

"I've thought about it. That van exploding, the report of someone having been abducted from the plaza… Saito suddenly calling to say they'd decided to stay the night over at _Purgatory_… Something happened on that day, something which shocked Netto and brought up his bad mood which he uses to lash out at everyone…"

"It's a pity, truly… He was so energetic and cherry and it's become this…"

"Good morning… Huff."

"Superintendent Oda?"

"Yes. I happened to hear your chat… I tried to give him a call yesterday afternoon and tell him a joke but he merely cut me."

"If only we found a way to snap him out of that…"

"I know, sir, I know…"

"Maybe his frustrations from the past have woken up as a result of what happened in Saturday?"

Oda came in, sighing, and sat on one chair: he looked down and depressed as well.

"I wouldn't be surprised. Given what happened 4 years ago… And it isn't only the incident of that year's summer… It also involves the previous Chief of the Net Police… The one who Chief Sorodo replaced over 2 years ago…"

"His retirement came as very sudden and quiet… So he'd done something which shouldn't be spoken aloud and thus he was quietly replaced by Chief Sorodo?" Yuuichirou asked.

"Sadly, he was somewhat lacking in criteria, so he got swayed over by the 2 or 3 paranoid idiots who tried to label Netto – kun and Rock Man as freaks instead of being thankful to him saving the world in exchange for nothing…"

"By all the…"

"He called me to his office one day and suggested arresting them both for "being a national threat"…!"

"WHAT?" Yuuichirou was angered by now.

"Of course, I went off and yelled at him. "Chief! Those idiots have played you for a fool! They SAVED the WORLD! In exchange for NOTHING!"… That obviously took the man apart but I didn't give time to blurt any reply: I stormed off and I think Netto – kun saw me come down from the stairs."

"And you then complained to the upper echelons?" Obihiro guessed.

"Of course! And they agreed with me. Given how citizens agreed with me in that they got saved and yet he didn't want anything back on exchange then they contacted Chief Sorodo to replace him. The previous Chief was given an arranged high-class retirement to keep his trap quiet and they place some pressure on the man to have him stop from trying to interfere with the behavior of the Cyber CID…"

"Heck." Obihiro grumbled.

"The damned fools!" Yuuichirou brought his fist down into the desk and some papers flew off.

"I know, sir, I know…! And further investigation revealed that the 5 outsiders involved in the incident had actually been paid by the idiots who still kept on calling Netto – kun and Rock Man "freaks"… Hence why they were jailed as well: they intended for that to happen!"

"I remember that all too well. Luckily Kuroshiro – kun came into the picture and helped infuse new life into Netto, who'd become a dull person who wasn't impressed at anything and only seemed to live on because he had a duty to…" Yuuichirou scowled.

"The world's gone mad." Obihiro fumed.

"Of course!"

Yuuichirou's PET beeped and he picked it up: Kuroshiro showed up onscreen and he looked guilty or depressed.

"Hikari – hakase, sir… I apologize for this sudden call, yet… I must apologize in person… We committed some errors which almost cost Netto – kun his sanity…" He sighed.

"Saturday?"

"Yes, sir… The culprit of the exploding van, a Latvian, kidnapped Netto – kun and between him and Plant Man they… tortured him… during 4 hours… We searched like mad for their hideout and we managed to locate it just as they challenged Saito to come over…"

"So that's why. He must've thought you'd locate him in a breeze and come ASAP but instead it took 4 hours during which God knows what they did to him… It must've made him despair from the inside and that despair and fear must've stirred up that of 4 years ago… Hence why instead of being thankful at you rescuing him he instead felt betrayed or disappointed and thus began to lash out at everyone like they all had some blame for what happened…" Yuuichirou deduced.

"Correct, sir… But he won't listen to me, either, sir… I am at my wits' end about how to calm him down, sir… I am sorry, sir… If only we'd found them faster…!"

"What's done is done, Kuroshiro – kun. No use crying over spilled milk: don't get obsessed with that."

"Ah… I knew that, sir, yet… Ah… Legally, as his CO… I am the one responsible for what happens to him and I must assume my responsibility and duties, sir."

"There's nothing wrong with that. That proves that you're committed to your obligations and duties. Let's give it some days. Maybe he'll eventually run off fuel to keep on lashing out and will switch to depressed mode: maybe then it'll be easier to try to reason with him." Yuuichirou suggested with a sigh.

"Understood, sir… But I will keep on trying, sir…"

"Of course. You can't judge something without having tried it firstly: go ahead."

"Thank you, sir… Ah! And beware, sir… We've detected someone trying to hack into the Virus Breeder, sir… We believe it's a new Navi designed by the Lobby which would use Viruses in battle to overwhelm or corner the adversary and then strike them…" Kuroshiro warned.

"Hum. I saw it coming miles away. We're keeping watch 24/7."

"That is good, sir. If you would allow me, sir, we could place security sensors to record anyone coming in and out. They could have an insider doing the job for them, even."

"I approve. We don't want something we designed to open a new age of co-existence between Viruses and Navis to be turned into a weapon to bring sorrow and destruction." Yuuichirou nodded.

"I approve as well. I share Hikari – hakase's reasoning." Oda walked towards Yuuichirou.

"Ah. Superintendent Oda, sir. Understood. Zero will bring the data over in a few minutes' time."

"I can handle the installation. I don't have much ongoing work." Obihiro offered.

"Thank you, Obihiro – kun." He sighed and made a weak smile.

"That's it. We must try to snap out of this mood or else when the Lobby decides to strike they'll catch us ill-prepared." Yuuichirou stood up all of a sudden and sighed before he assumed a resolved pose.

"Well said, sir." Oda nodded in agreement.

"Alright… I'll be on my way… If you'll excuse me…"

"Of course."

Kuroshiro ended the call and the mood seemed to improve: Obihiro nodded at them and walked out of the room while Oda headed towards the restroom: he opened the sink's faucet and washed his face before heading back into the room.

"Well, then, sir… I'll be on my way, too. I'll ring up Ijuuin – kun and task him with keeping an eye out for any news of this mysterious Navi the Lobby is supposed to have developed."

"Good."

"And I guess Uncle Moran's charming nephews will soon provide us with some fine radio voices." He formed a grin.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they did that."

"Heh, heh, heh. Uncle Merton's on my side. Let's go!"

09:51 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Well, Blues?"

"According to the Program – kuns… Nothing is out of order, Enzan – sama."

"Hum. Don't lower the guard. They could be lurking inside by now for all we know."

"Roger, sir. I'll bring up the sensor data now that they're installed and running, sir."

"Do it."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… Go! My new servants!"

"The culprit! Go, Blues!"

"Roger!"

"No need to search! Go! Rabiri! Hi Rabiri! Mega Rabiri!"

"Rabiri~!"

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY! THE RABIRI SPECIES HAVE GONE BERSERK!"

"Lovely."

Blues had been walking down a central square of a Cyber World somewhere which had various Warp Points with 3D banners floating over them when sirens rang out, someone chuckled, and a Program – kun began to yell.

"PLEASE DO NOT DELETE THEM! THEY'RE BEING REMOTELY CONTROLLED BY AN INTRUDER, SIR! THEY ARE KIND!" The Program – kun rushed to Blues' side and began to jump over and over again.

"Alright. Any easy way to soothe them?" He sighed.

"BUG FRAGMENTS, SIR! VIRUSES EAT BUG FRAGMENTS, SIR!"

"Good. So many excursions into the Reverse Internet let me collect plenty of them…"

"Coming, Blues!"

"Yes, sir!"

"Scatter them around you: the Bug Fragments!"

"Roger, sir!"

The 3 types of "Rabiri" Virus rushed out of a Warp Point while Blues scattered some "Bug Fragments" around him: the Viruses' red eyes faded and returned to normal as they began to eat.

"You Viruses! Obey me!"

"The Lobby's pawn. Come out. Face me."

"Pawn! Me! I am Executive Class! Magic Man EXE!"

"Oh yeah? You can place a curse on us with your immortal magic?" Enzan challenged.

"Damn you!"

A Net Navi stepped out of the Warp Point.

Magic Man could be about a meter and eighty tall and his main motif was that of a wizard.

His face was designed in an odd manner: he had two yellow plain dots which were his eyes yet he lacked nose or mouth and instead a triangle-shaped white extension formed below the eyes and curved out outwards as if was meant to be a wizard's beard.

He had a blue wizard's hat over his head which contained a small dome-shaped ruby jewel on the base of it before the hat's main body began: two white extensions popped out from the base at opposite sides of it and stretched towards the rear: maybe they were horns.

His shoulders were small spheroids colored sea blue and they had a spear popping out of the NW and NE corners respectively and aiming backwards: his Navi emblem was set over the spheroids and close to his head.

The emblem consisted on the following: to begin with it had two parallel purple bars in the center of it with a black dot in each one's center: two half-domes colored black were set on the sides of the central bars and each had a purple dot in the middle of them: the edge was cyan in color.

His arms looked like the wide sleeves of a tunic and they expanded in size before they ended in a cyan stripe before two ruby domes which were placed were the hands should be at.

His chest was sea blue and had a cyan stripe spanning down across its height from the neck to the waist: the waist was cyan as well.

His lower body was shaped like a cone made up of 3 levels which went on growing on size: their main color was sea blue yet they had the central cyan stripe spanning down across the height of the whole set: the sides had a drawing which consisted of a large purple diamond with two miniature ones placed at the west and east sides of each: the same drawing repeated in the other two levels.

His feet were brown and seemed to resemble old-style boots with a bluish triangle in the front of each.

"So you lowlife are Magic Man."

"Yes! Magic Fire!"

"Blues. Plan M."

"Roger, sir."

"Whatever plans you come up with are FUTILE!"

Magic Man lifted his arms and bluish flames formed in front of each dome: they began to form two slow-moving rows of flames which headed for Blues: Enzan whispered something and Blues ran forward: he jumped into the air and drew a Long Blade and a Wide Blade: he landed behind Magic Man and quickly spun around to form a cut in the shape of the Alphabet letter "X" on his back: Magic Man growled and warped to reappear behind Blues.

"Magic Saber!"

"What! Ugh!"

"Hah! Frail! Magic Fire! Double Round!"

"Ugh! Fast!"

Blues got hit by the Magic Saber (a blue-colored Long Sword) and he seemed to go slower: Magic Man seemingly got confident and shot two streams of flames.

"I'll use the special Viruses I'd saved up! These ones are more aggressive than these ones! Go! Dream Bolt! Dream Moss! Dream Smeralda! Dream Lapeer! Dream Bit!" He laughed.

The 5 types of "Dream Bit" showed up: the Flame one (Smeralda), the Water one (Lapeer), the Elec one (Bolt), the Wood one (Moss) and the non-elemental one (Bit): they began to unleash their attacks (Dream Bit shot a greenish laser at Blues) and they all met the mark.

"Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah! Weak!"

"Hmpf. I wonder about that… Behold! The Muramasa Blade, granted by the mighty Serenade! When I suffer over 1500 HP of damage then I can activate its three-prong mode! I'll return these 1500 HP to you!"

"WHA~T?"

Blues suddenly grinned and formed the mighty three-prong blade which was glowing with an eerie purple light: even the "Dream Bit" Viruses seemed to fear it and they quickly ran off.

"No wonder. They came from the Reverse Internet. I guess they can recognize Serenade's power aura from this and they know that it's suicide to try to stand up to anything made by Serenade." Blues exposed with a shrug of the shoulders.

"I-impossible… Then… You got hit ON PURPOSE?"

"If you haven't realized until now then you're slow to catch on." Enzan dully taunted.

"T-these FOOLS! Magic _Kage Bunshin_!"

He quickly formed several "Kage Bunshin" of his own but a rain of _shuriken_ fell from above and hit each and every one of them (10 in total) and they vanished while the real Magic Man groaned and collapsed on his knees trying to pull out the one which had gotten stabbed on his chest.

"Calling on Shadow Man."

"Hum. Shadow Man. Who sends you?"

"Cyber CID hired my Operator."

"Ah. Guess Superintendent Oda thought it'd be wise to have backup, then…"

"One warning, though… This is just for this occasion."

"I knew that. Go ahead."

"Hmpf. Fine…"

"Damn it! I'll remember this! Magic Escape!"

Magic Man produced a white flash and escaped: the alarms died down and Blues then spotted the Dream Bit type Viruses eating some of the scattered "Bug Fragments" and then playing with the Rabiri type Viruses: the Program – kun began to jump.

"YAY! THEY GET ALONG!"

"Well then. Call the manager and tell him to safe-keep them here."

"Hmpf… Well. I'm going to try to find that guy's trail… Next time we meet we may be enemies… Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh…"

Shadow Man vanished with a cloud of smoke and Blues shrugged as he returned to Enzan's PET.

"Mission accomplished, sir."

"Good job. Let's go report to Superintendent Oda."

"Yes, sir. Those fools got the lesson they needed."

"Of course."

18:48 PM (Japan Time)…

"… I'm home. Huff. At least Mr. President seems to be in a better mood compared to some days ago…"

"Why's that, Father?"

"Don't rush it, Jake."

"Jeez. Kei – niisan! I know that! I was just asking!"

"Give him some time to relax."

"It's not like I pester him every day, you see!"

"I didn't say you did."

Daikani stepped into his apartment and was greeted by two teenagers who obviously were his sons: the younger one began to ask and the older one began to correct him so the younger one fumed.

"Now, now. Kei and Jake. Calm down."

"It's not like I was getting angry, Father."

"Huff."

Kei, the older, had black neatly arranged hair and brown irises.

Jake, the younger, had black messy hair and brown irises: he could be a few inches shorter in height than his brother.

Both were about 17 years old and they wore their high school clothes as they sat on a sofa in front of the balcony's sliding door.

Daikani sat down on an armchair and picked a glass with cold water on it which had been served by one of them.

"Well. Morale seems to be the usual thing yet I've noticed some down time in VP _Noir_ as of late… Today he seemed to feel slightly better but you could feel it on the air… Something must've happened yet nothing's changed onboard so whatever happened didn't directly involve any of the members…" Daikani exposed after drinking the water.

"By the way… What happened in the Science Labs? We've heard over the TV that a Navi broke in."

"Magic Man EXE… Can hijack Viruses and use them to overwhelm the opponent before attacking himself… Blues and Shadow Man drove him to a corner and he fled the Virus Breeder…"

"Ah. We'd heard some chat about that…" Jake muttered.

"Yes. It's designed to raise several species of Viruses and study their behavior and stats… The use of "Bug Fragments" can improve their strength too… And now they've begun to produce "Virus Chips" which can combine their strength… Or, rather, summon at random one of the 3 Viruses which form a Type… Like in the roulette… You need to time it well if you want to bring out the best one." He detailed.

"Interesting." Kei lifted his eyebrows.

"Yes. But now there's a new line of research going on… It's said that there are "Bosses" of each type of Virus which hide in hard-to-find-spots and have even further power… And they could be added to the Virus Chip to contain 4 types… Yet there's an exception, like the Dream Bits, because there are 5 known types… Were the "Boss" to be found, its Navi Chip might incorporate up to 6 types…"

"Wow. So even Viruses have "Bosses"… Viruses which have grown stronger in power and speed and tactics…" Jake whistled.

"Has Oscar more or less gone over that conflicting spot he was stuck at some months ago?"

"So it'd seem… He looks cherry and all but nevertheless he sometimes looks down and nervous… I think he's afraid of Laser Man trying to discredit him by blurting about their past together…"

"But Laser Man won't do that, right?"

"No. The Prince has seen to it. Given how he's always monitoring him then Laser Man knows that if he tries to go too far he'll finally end the Prince's patience and he might be deleted. Or maybe the Prince will remake him."

"Remake? Ah. So he'd erase all of his memory data and input another to lessen the threat?" Kei guessed.

"Yes. He might come to those ends and none of us would be surprised: it'd be for the best, anyway. We can't let Laser Man's presence haunt Oscar forever. The Prince knows this."

"Yeah. He deserves to live in peace, to cast aside his violent past as a member of some street gang…"

"Of course."

"Huh? Mail… Eisei… Welcome to my WORLD! Warmonger Ordinary Repeating Lashing Disaster! What in the… This is so mad, man." Kei looked at his PET and groaned.

"Yes. It'd seem he now tries to make up acronyms."

"More like aberrations." Jake fumed.

"Of course…"

"Huh? Now it's my PET…? Oh please! Gimme ONE! Omen Napping Emerald! Yeah. Sounds like a magic _manga_ rip-off in which something dreadful was sealed inside of an emerald."

"He's getting too random." Daikani sighed.

"BLURP!" Kei's PET blurted.

"That was rude to begin with. He's sent a mail with a WAV file."

"BO~!" Jake's PET howled.

"Yeah. Like that'd scare anyone to begin with."

"HOW DISGUSTING!" Daikani's PET yelled.

"The Rocket Gang motto, huh? Every time they fail and end up blown up they always yell that." Kei fumed.

"HOW DELICIOUS!"

"That was in some of the movies. It's the opposite: all ended up well."

"Yeah. "Ya na kanji" and "Ii kanji"…"

"My little blessed, despised and adored MICE!"

"Charmed." Jake drily muttered.

"MICE! Mincing Illegal Charming Elite!"

"Oh come on." Kei slapped his forehead.

"Someone needs to shower him with cold water." Daikani sighed.

"Truly, Father." Jake nodded in agreement.

"TIME! Transiting Imaginative Marching Escalator!"

"Oh yeah? Sounds like something you'd invent for _Star Wars_ comics or novels." Kei wasn't surprised.

"WATER! Wrenching Alluding Topping Earning Ring!"

"And what's that supposed to do, anyway?"

"KASUMI! Knocking Alluding Subtle Underrated Mistress Information!"

"Oh come on." Both twins groaned.

"I thought there was a popular character named Kasumi somewhere?"

"Yeah. _Pocket Monsters_… Introduced in 1996… The leader of the Hanada City Gym, Water-Type PKMN specialist… She got popular due to her role in the _anime_ which began in the year '97… She travelled with the protagonist and another pal until 2002… Ever since then she's only showed up as cameos or did guest appearances or starred into her own special episodes yet the popularity remains…" Kei explained.

"I see." He calmly shrugged.

"TAKESHI! Trailing Aggravating Knocking Encouraging Studying Hiking Indian!"

"Oh come on. Takeshi goes next? He remained in the anime travelling party until 2 years ago: he's had lotta more screen-time than Kasumi did so… And Satoshi comes next?" Jake sighed.

"SATOSHI! Suffocating Assassinating Training Oiling Swaying Hushing Irregular!"

"Earth, swallow us whole. This is worse than those comics."

"I'll agree with you on that." Daikani rolled his eyes.

"NYARTH! New Yelling Aspiring Rocketing Terrorist Hero!"

"If the CIA heard that…" Daikani grimly muttered.

"Huff. Hell would break loose."

"MUSASHI! Mating Undermining Silver Agenda Serving Hindi Insect!"

"Hindi Insect? How lame." Kei growled.

"KOJIROU! Knocking Omen Joking Illustrator Recycling Order Untrained!"

"Is he done with the SHOW?" Jake groaned.

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh. To all of ya out there who heard to the great me's show! Learn this: Dully – chan will become one of the dancing men! Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh."

"Dully – chan?" The three of them groaned.

"I say yo and behold! I can predict where the next thunderbolt will fall in the next 24 hours! The place is… Mt. Tengan's Spear Pillar! Let's hope it doesn't wake up Dialga and Palkia! Heh, heh, heh."

"Collage maniac…" Kei groaned.

"Totally…"

"I'll agree with you two on that."

"Well. We're ending May. We need to start working on the upcoming June exams."

"I know, Kei – niisan… Let's go study a bit."

"Do your best, my sons… And let's hope this menace in the air vanishes…"

_The "Lobby" can't be allowed to give tools to terrorists…! You will fail!_


	13. Chapter 13: Advise and Arrogance

**Chapter 13: Advise and Arrogance**

17:57 PM (Japan Time), Thursday May the 26th…

"… Fuck. It's been 5 days and I can't shake it off. It's all their blame: they were slow! They should've been there in 5 minutes' time!"

"Why. If it isn't Jr."

"… Eisei? How did you find me?"

"I didn't intend to. I happen to stroll by here from time to time."

"Yeah. And you wanna use the chance to make fun of me, huh?"

"W-what? I dunno what you're talking about."

"Whatever the friggin' ever."

"W-what's the matter, man?"

"Who knows? Maybe your cologne is to blame?"

"Oh come on. I'm not going to fall for that child-like taunt."

"Too bad. You'll climb an adult-like taunt, then."

"That doesn't sound like you."

"Not like you've known me for years."

"That's true, but…"

Netto had been sitting on a bench in the hills overlooking the city: there was a gravel path behind him which stretched east and west in a continuous manner: Eisei showed up behind him and leaning on the bench: Netto growled and didn't bother to look at him as he placed both elbows on his hips and leant his jaw on his hands.

"You seem to be in a bad mood…" Eisei timidly ventured as if trying not to anger him any further.

"What happened to your damned GUTS?"

"G-guess Guts Man stole 'em."

"Hmpf! Then you're weak. You'll die soon."

"O-oi." He gulped.

"Weaklings die. The strong survive. Rule of the nature."

"I k-knew that, but…" He trailed off.

"So? Don't you have something better to do? Like sending troll emails to the 4 billion humans out there?"

"W-well, I don't feel like it by now…"

"Hmpf. How the mighty have fallen." Netto dully taunted.

"Huh… Guess that, yeah…"

"What's the problem?" A new voice asked.

"Huh! Yikes!"

"Who…?"

Netto turned around and spotted a man walking towards them.

This man could be on his mid-20s or slight above: He had no trace of a beard or moustache so he still retained a youthful appearance.

His hair was black in coloring and kept a neatly combed manner while his eyes' irises were blood red.

He wore a simple white t-shirt, jeans and sandals.

"_Aibou_!"

"_Aibou_… ? Prince Kuroban?" Netto gasped.

"Huh? Ah. Yeah. You're all used to seeing me in my Denpa – Henkan armor… But today I felt hot with it so I switched it off… I came from a stroll so… What's up, Gray?"

"Well… I was strolling here and tried to have a chat with Junior here but he seems to be pretty much annoyed…"

"Hmpf. Someone else came to pity me."

"What?" Kuroban frowned.

"No offense, Prince, but I don't need your pity, sir."

"Who said I came to pity you?"

"It was obvious, sir." He turned around to look out at the city again and looked both dull and bored.

"Ah. So it's like Ernst had heard. You're lashing out at anyone you find thinking they're to blame for your own misfortune."

"Hmpf."

"Yet! Do you know who you are hurting the most like that?"

"Hurting?" He frowned.

"All those around you… You're plunging them into sadness and depression and stealing their energies and moods… You're wounding them."

"W-what?" He gasped.

"How long do you intend to remain like that? What do you _gain_ from that, Hikari Netto?"

"What do I… gain?" He wondered.

"Are you doing this because it makes you feel better? Or do you want to hurt others and rejoice from seeing that?"

"N-no!" He gasped.

"So it makes you feel better?"

"N-no, now that you mention it…"

"What if instead of 4 hours it'd been 24? Or 48? Or 72?"

Netto gasped and the question seemed to strike a spot because he got frozen in the spot: he seemed to be shivering, even, and his eyes began to water.

"W-what I've been doing…? Hurting others…? Because of…?"

Kuroban sighed and sat down at Netto's left: he placed both hands on his hips and looked at him while Eisei remained standing behind them and quiet.

"Look, Hikari Netto… I know what it means. I experienced that, too, over 10 years ago… And back then I behaved just like you… Lashing out at everyone else… Consumed by anger and annoyance… Being caprice-filled, thinking that the whole tale could've been prevented if we'd kept our eyes open…" He sighed.

"Ah…!" Eisei seemed to know something about it.

"Gray there: he was kidnapped by a Choina gangster and kept as a slave for over a year. Ernst: slaved for 3 years… Sieg as well… But you only suffered 4 hours… Does that make you special or different?"

Netto didn't reply and looked at the ground as if starting to realize Kuroban had some good points.

"So?"

"… You're right, Prince, sir… I got selfish and I've wasted all these days lashing out at everyone and hurting them… All because I wouldn't accept that there are limitations to what one can do in such circumstances: and I haven't gained anything to begin with… I've been losing all rounds of this battle…" He sighed.

"Good. That's the important part: realizing that you've got nothing to gain and instead you're losing a battle against "selfishness"… You fought grand enemies and through combining others' powers you won… Bonds are fragile, Hikari Netto… Like in this case… You've stressed them and shatter-points are starting to show up there and there… Any more stress and they'll shatter… And then you'll have lost something whose value cannot be expressed by mere numbers or words…"

"Bonds are fragile…!"

"Indeed. So you should start by going to see everyone personally and apologize… Show them your repentance… And then the bonds will be reestablished… And strengthened…"

"Ah… I can be so stupid from time to time, really…"

"This is not about being stupid. It's about not wanting to accept reality and wanting to believe everything is perfect and it's the others' blame that it isn't…" Kuroban insisted.

"So… What happened to you, sir?"

"My uncle."

"E~H! Your uncle, sir?"

"Yeah. Loser type of guy… Wanted to usurp the monarchy… But my Father came just in time… The guy assaulted me on our house and brought me to the basement… But Father returned earlier than planned, luckily enough, because the damned Demon was about to cut my neck."

"By all the…"

"There was a fight and the Demon fled. He tried to sneak back a week later at night and my Father killed them in self-defense. These things happen in families like ours…" He sighed.

"I see…"

"Anyway… Guess we should be on our way back… There's a lot we need to investigate…" Kuroban stood up and stretched.

"You found nothing about the ghost server?"

"No. Someone seems to know when the thing will be needed and then it shows up but as soon as the data has been sent to the requester then it vanishes and there's no finding it anymore. We're starting to think that the author was trying to place the blame in the Seraphs but we've found out that it isn't the case. They're a sneaky Koratta, alright."

"Huff. If we don't destroy that thing then one day there'll be a mass assault of Navis at major facilities and we'll be in a tight spot."

"My point exactly. Let's go, Gray. We need to continue the searches."

"R-roger. S-see ya."

18:18 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Ah… Yeah… Like that… Hmmm… You feel good, Legato…"

"Thanks, Saito – kun… I'm surprised you suddenly dropped by: it's not usual for you to come during the week…"

"Man. I felt so down that I couldn't wait for the weekend. I needed something to fuel me up."

"Heh, heh, heh. So… Should we call any of the guys to have some games, then? Without involving your brother…"

"Hmmm… Well. I'll suggest it to them: we'll see."

"Alright."

Saito and Legato were having sex in his _Purgatory_ room: Saito was lying atop Legato: he stroke his hands down his back: Legato kept the helmet and the shades on: both were covered by the blankets until the waist more or less.

"Welcome to the _Atomic Sulfate_! This album doesn't have "chapters" per se so we've decided to 8 pages per day. This way it'll take about 6 sessions to wrap it up. It's one of the first full-length adventure albums, published in 1968! Without any more preludes… Start!"

"Oho. They've begun… Stuff it into me, Legato."

"OK."

Legato moved and he obviously stuffed his cock into Saito's ass: Saito looked relieved and thrilled as he began to move up and down following the pace and Legato massaged his back.

"… "Within the city's heart lies the building of the organization which veils for the nation's security… The "T. I. A." HQ! Its two sharpest agents head there." … "Here it is… Take out the key, M!"… "Yeah, Boss." … "We could have a better locale, couldn't we?"… "Security goes first, you know! This door is forged with a super-steel plate and the lock is lock-pick-proof. No-one outside the org can come in!"… BOOM!"

"… Burn! "BOSS! What ha… A~H!"… BAUM! …"

"Shah, shah, shah! "T-they've robbed the elevator… The thieves must've come in during the night! Well, let's go! Mr. Super's waitin'! Mr. Super! Do you know that they've stolen the… the…?"… "YES, I DO! BLOODY…!"…"

"… "Well! I guess you know Dr. Bacterio, the biologist, right?"… "Well, yeah… Cha invented a lotion to prevent baldness, right?"… "Yeah, that's THE guy! THE guy! And I was his guinea-pig… They used to call me "hairy Mortadelo" back then!"… "Well! Ahem! What's done is done and the hairs go to the sea, see?"… It's a saying to say: let's not fight over the details."

"Hairs go to the sea, eh?" Saito giggled.

They grasped each other and began a passionate kiss as they turned around so Legato was on top now and Saito on the bottom: they split apart some seconds later, panting.

"… "MAN! CALM DOWN! That of "hairs go the sea" it's a popular saying, man!"… "Well! Turns out he's invented an atomic sulfate to fight the countryside's plagues. There's a portion in this spray. Now, see the effects… See that leaf, where a "cochinillus antropófagus" is having a 5-star meal. Well then! We spray it a bit with the sulfate and…"..."

"And nothing happens?" Legato chuckled.

"Guess that."

"… "HORROR!" … "A~H!"… "MOMMY~!"… "HELP!"… The insect turned gigantic! "T-too big of a dose… I'll beat it!"… "Calm down, you 2! The cochinillus antropófagus" is a harmless animal… which can't be said from Prof. Bacterio! GRRR!"… "… I… I… It shot past and…!"… "Well, matter settled, luckily I always carry my troglodyte disguise at hand!"… "Well, gentlemen, as you've seen, the Prof's invention brings along a great danger for humanity… so it's our duty to destroy it!"… "Well. Throw it into the ocean and that's it."… "That's it! Into the ocean, invention and inventor!"…"

"Heh. M still keeps his grudge of losing his hair to the guy's "anti-baldness lotion"…" Saito giggled.

"Coming!" Legato announced.

"Ah! Good! Fill me up!"

"… "Yes, but the worst part of the deal is that a pot having sulfate on it was stolen… by agents of the Tirania Republic!"… "Devil! There's Dictator Bruteztrausen…"… "The tyrant who wants to rule the world!"… "Exactly! Bruteztrausen plans on producing the sulfate in mass doses and use it as an offensive weapon! Imagine the millions of insects in our country expanded to the size of locomotives."… "GLUB! I can picture myself as sandwich for crickets!"… "Well then! That's where you come in! You'll sneak into the Republic of Tirania and retrieve the sulfate before the guy can analyze it and turn it into a weapon. Here you have the plane tickets to go there."… "Plane! What luxury!"… "Use the emergency exit to come out."… "OK!"… "Take the spray. You might need it!"… "Don't tempt me, don't tempt me!"… "DEVIL! The insect woke up!"… "L-let me! I'll take it down!"… "OW! YOU HIT MY OTHER EYE!"… "I, I…"…"

"Oho. So they gotta go to that Tirania place and get it back."

"By the way, the Prof was trying to use a lamp to hit the insect but only hit the head and one eye of Mr. Super. Guess he was in for a revenge match after hitting his sane eye." Video Man laughed.

"… "Any moors on sight?"… "No, Boss!"… VROM! TCLANG! "Well, Boss, you asked me about moors… Not about cars!"… "Luggage: ready! Did you pick the passports?"… "Yeah, Boss."… "Let's get to the plane!"… "The "plane"… BRRR! It struck me as odd: that waste of money!"… It's a bus named "Plane"!"

"Hah, hah, hah! A bus…"

"The most chaotic bus in the whole world!"

"I wouldn't be surprised."

"We called for some extras to provide background voices!"

"Yo! The fellow conspirer of Alexander the Lesser has come!"

"Oh my. The Queen dropped by."

"… "Stop tossing the olives' bones into my neck!"… "My teeth!"… "Close the mouth, old-timer! It jumps out into my newspaper at every road-bump!"… "The kid doesn't pay, right?"… "The kid? Come on, ma'am! Take those diapers off the grandpa!"…"

"Man. What chaos." Saito giggled.

"Put it in."

"Sure."

Saito slid down Legato's body and then suddenly thrust forward: Legato gasped and seemed to feel better with the feeling.

"Ah! Good, good!"

"… "Why! Another bump!"… "Puah! This Spanish omelet is repulsing!"… "You're eating my beret!"… "What crappy roads!"… "Heh! Wait 'till we leave the freeway and we pick Region 6 Road…"… "My teeth!"… "DEVIL! It's on the newspaper again!"… "DRIVER, STOP! That newspaper guy threw me outta the window and kept my teeth!"… "Get down from my head, you…!"… "Brute!"… "SAVAGE! Stop munching my kidneys!"… "BOSS! WHERE ARE YA?"… The bus finally reaches the border: watch-towers, radars, tanks, and mine-fields plus barbwire! And then bus crashes into the customs buildings!"… "The brakes, the brakes! I'm fed up! The same thing happens in each trip!"… "Bus passengers! Documents! Passport! Register!"…"

"Heh! What a bus! Thrust faster, Saito – kun!"

"Sure!"

"… "Come on, M, bring the passports out."… "Yes, Boss."… "These customs are strict, huh?"… "Yes… Luckily our documents are validated!"… "Huh? GRRR! Mocken! Bruten! Grrrbbbll! GUARDS!"… "EIN, ZWEI, EIN, ZWEI, EIN, ZWEI, EIN, ZWEI, EIN…!"… "ZZZTOP!"… "I-I'm leavin', Boss…!"… "FU~SSTAPFÉ!"… They get kicked away… literally! "What in the…? What?"… "This is an abuse! I'll complain to the consulate! Give back the passports! Brrr! I dunno what's wrong with our…. DEVIL! THOUSAND DEVILS!"… "W-what's up, Boss?"… "LOOK, YOU…! Look at them!"…"

"Suspense, suspense." Saito giggled.

"Sure."

"… They were cooking magazines! … "L-looks like I mixed them with the rush and all… How funny, eh?"… "Brrr! We can't go back to get 'em! Time is of essence! We must get in somewhat!"… "Gotcha, Boss! My disguises!"… "We'll pose as animals and cross in a discreet manner! Let's go, Boss!"… "Discreet! He intends to be discreet!"… "Hop!"… "S-stop, halt! Unbelieveablen ! I gotta report to Herr Kommandant. Herr Kommandant: ostriches… Need a passport to cross the border?"… "Ostriches? Did you say ostriches, Seargenten?"… "JA! The ostriches, yes, those things with long necks, two legs and feathers… D-don't need it… You can go on… ACH!"…"

"Guess Herr Kommandant gave him a lesson." Legato chuckled.

"No doubt. Six-nine."

They pulled away the covers and got into place to go for the six-nine while Video Man cleared his throat.

"… "Devil! He did it! Then it's my turn! Brrr! He could've lent a nobler disguise…!"… Donkey! "Hop!"… "A~LTEN! GESUND – HEITSPOLIZEI! Health! ARTIKEL THIRRRTY THRRRE! Donkeyen, Mulen und Horsen, anti-feet 'n mouthen vaccine! DA!"… "UA~H! MOMMY~! AW! AW! A~W!" … "ALARM! SPION! SPY! STOP THEM!"… BONG! "EIN… ZWEI… EIN… ZWEI… EIN…"… "Horror! Boss got caught! I gotta save him… somehow!"

"And here ends today's 8-page segment! Tune in for more! V-B-N! Off Air and In Air! Heh, heh, heh!"

Saito and Legato released and returned to their normal poses to have another passionate kiss: they rubbed their cocks against each other and released as they finished their kiss and saw how they were connected by a white string.

"Heh, heh, heh. The white string of fate?"

"My. Truly."

18:51 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Well. At the least he seems to be back to his earlier mood… Guess the Prince was of help there…"

"Hmpf… This time I'll crush you, brat…"

"Oh come on. You never bother to learn others' names, do you?"

"Destroy…! I destroy it all!"

"Including your ego?"

"Wha~t?"

"_Bully Go Home_."

"I'll slice you yet!"

"I'd decline. I've got 2 aces which you know about."

"Che. Not those again."

"So?"

"Hra~h!"

"Guess you need a lesson: my emptiness will serve. Black End Galaxy~!"

Andy had been jumping up through the Reverse Internet's levels and he'd almost reached the surface (as evidenced by a large hole having a greenish fluorescent spiral stairway built there) when "Barbatos" suddenly showed up behind him: Andy grumbled and got annoyed as he tried to shoo the guy away.

"What!"

Andy lifted his hands and formed a small spheroid of blackish energy which he then dropped behind "Barbatos": it suddenly grew into a large black hole which began to suck everything around it: Andy drew a reddish blade on his right forearm and boosted on forward cutting the air where "Barbatos" was at and opening a large wound on his upper chest: Andy flew past the black hole which suddenly collapsed.

"Mugra~h!"

The shockwave originating from its implosion sent "Barbatos" flying across the area: he hit the ground and groaned as he somehow managed to stand on his fours.

"T-this BRAT! What happened to my power? I was the ultimate! The ultimate!"

"You see… Lack of activity when closed up in the "cage" made it go dull and dormant… And your absorption of "it" didn't contribute much: now you need that armor to keep it at bay. So unless you find a way to extract "it" from your body then you can't reuse your former power because "it" will get in the way." Andy dully announced.

"What about the other kid, huh?"

"Rock Man, you mean? It's true he's still got his piece of the "other one" but he found a system to keep it quarantined and managed to cut down all connections it had while keeping it dormant too. He wouldn't go around carrying a time bomb on him, see. And you don't seem to have realized that." He shrugged his shoulders.

"So. Sinner. Have you earned your lesson?"

"Shit. The bitch."

"Hmpf."

Slur suddenly showed up, hovering in the air 3 meters over and behind "Barbatos" while folding her arms: golden light surrounded her frame and she looked dull and unimpressed.

"Fight me!"

"If you wish for it… Let this be a lesson." She shrugged.

She landed on the ground about 10 meters away and suddenly ran forward in a zigzag pattern: "Barbatos" gasped and drew a Vulcan Battle Chip to begin shooting but she had no trouble shifting left or right to avoid the rounds: she ran past "Barbatos".

"What?"

"Hah!"

"Uah! Uack!"

However, her arms had had some thin wires attached to them from behind so she'd swung them forward to wrap them around "Barbatos", pull him into the air and drop him in the ground 4 meters ahead after making him draw an arch over the air: some whispers and muttering could be heard and Andy dully glanced at some crowd which had formed in the surrounding platforms.

"Was that enough of a lesson, sinner?" She challenged.

"Damn you~…" He howled as he got back to his feet.

"It would seem it has not. Fine. Andy. Continue. I shall handle this spot: I have been yearning to give some lessons to this fool." She commanded while looking at him.

"By your will, Slur – sama." He politely bowed.

He climbed up the stair without bothering to look at the fight and was soon out of sight: "Barbatos" growled and reddish light surrounded his frame: Slur merely lifted the right eyebrow and looked totally unimpressed which seemed to piss off the guy further on.

"Gurawra~h!"

"I shall borrow one of Andy's abilities, then. Red Gaia Eraser."

Slur formed two disks in the air which had a gear-like black edge and a core of yellowish energy: they assumed positions aiming diagonally for "Barbatos": they produced continuous streams of reddish energy which travelled across the ground drawing the Alphabet "X" character: before the guy could recover from the sudden attack, Slur formed a red beam which he shot straight at him: a gigantic dome-shaped explosion spread on the spot and wrecked a large part of the floor.

"Mugro~h!"

The ground had been wrecked and a hole had opened so "Barbatos" plunged towards the depths and was soon out of sight: Slur merely directed a bored glare there and then glanced around: the crowds quickly fled as if fearing they were the next ones and she shrugged.

"Hmpf. How foolish. How vain. How useless. Serenade… What did you see in them…? I think you were too kind for your own sake. Sometimes you need to look at things in a more dispassionate and analytic manner: you might name it cold and machine-like yet that can bring an easier solution without emotions or ideals getting in the way…" She muttered in dull tone of voice.

She suddenly glanced over her right shoulder: she extended two thin wires with a miniature cylinder at their end which formed a dagger form followed by a tetragon and by a rectangular shaft with a triangular lower edge: the two ends converged into another triangular end and then the frame was filled with energy becoming a graceful sword which she lifted as she spun around.

"So. The sinner who has committed evil deeds by summoning forces beyond mortal control is next?"

"W-what was that?"

The attacker turned out to be Magic Man but Slur had no trouble keeping his "Magic Saber" at way with the sword that she held in the right hand while she began to built up a spheroid of white energy on the left one while aiming it backwards so that Magic Man wouldn't see it coming: she focused her dull glare on him and he gasped: Magic Man began to step away and seemed to lose confidence.

"What are you doing, Magic Man? Finish that bitch off!"

"M-master, but… I have a bad feeling about this…! You did see the power she used before!"

"What power? That bitch only made up a light show and detonated the ground! That bitch's weak! Go! Finish the bitch!"

"Weak? You foolish humans are the real weaklings, drowning in vanity."

"What was that, you bitch?"

"That overused word by foolish men has no meaning to me. Your foolish actions moved by greediness will soon collapse as well. We shall not let you arm terrorists to let them commit crimes worse than the infamous 11-S… You lot have lost all humanity and are but lesser demons."

"T-this BITCH!"

"The end."

"What!"

She shot the spheroid at Magic Man: it attached to his chest and began to grow in size at a mad manner while apparently sucking energy off Magic Man's body: it imploded and Magic Man roared as the explosion sent him flying several meters away before falling towards the depths while drawing a parabola.

"Weak? Me? Fools! The lot of them! They do not realize who they are facing. They are the real weaklings. They need others to do things in their instead and cannot do anything on their own. That is being both a coward and a weakling… Such frail strength will not even overcome that of "Barbatos" as weak as he may be right now…" She dully exposed.

_We did well on coming here. Someone had to bring order and stability to "this" Time-Space. We have crossed Time-Space twice. We do not regret leaving all behind. Some of the ones who came from the "other" Time-Spaces do not remember that anymore. Only I and President Hades do that… It was all for Kuroshiro Oriol's and President Hades' sakes… To escape the "curse" of "Twilight" and the "Ice Queen"… To break free from the "fates" they tried to impose into them… And to be able to live their life without anyone trying to steal it from them… Serenade… I would have liked to meet you in life… We would have talked a lot and I am sure we would have agreed in several spots… We could have tried to rebuild you, but almost nothing of your data survived… We could have attempted to rebuild your body, but as the personality… We could not. We cannot…_

Slur hovered in the air and flew away while inwardly sighing…


	14. Chapter 14: Black sheep

**Chapter 14: Black Sheep**

08:18 AM (Latvia Time), Saturday May the 28th…

"… Alec? It's me."

"Ernst. I was waiting for you."

"I'm climbing up."

"Alright. The EVOM was useful?"

"Sure. I MOVE like an OVEM."

"Code correct. It's funny."

"Heh. I thought it to make anyone else think it's too random and stupid to be a code. Sometimes Eisei provides you with good ideas…"

"So, what's new?"

"Well. I told you that of the weird code in a bottle and that deal with "Eight of Franklin Square", right? We decoded it."

"What was in the code?"

"Well."

Ernst climbed into a large tree's branches from the window of a wooden house's dusty and abandoned bedroom: he spotted another guy sitting one branch over him so he climbed and sat at his side.

The guy, Alec, was around his age: he had brown combed hair and blue eye irises.

He wore an open jean sleeveless jacket, a simple bluish t-shirt, jeans and sneakers.

"They were rip-offs from the Dan Brown novel "The Lost Symbol": the Mason cipher was a garble of letters which read "SOEU ATUN CASAS VUNJ"… And it'd seem that "Eight of Franklin Square" means a "magic square" which tells you how to rearrange the letters so that you get a message which makes sense."

"So they wanted to link your org to Mason conspiracies?"

"Sure as Hell." Ernst grumbled.

"What about the diver?"

"Blue Wave could spot the oxygen tank's serial number so he's gone to investigate where it was made, what store had it, and when it had been sold. He doesn't except the store to remember the customer or write down his name if the customer paid in cash but… At least we'll get an idea of the area from which our diver came from…"

"Hum. So you think the guy was a proxy employed by the elusive owner of the ghost server? Are you sure that guy and the "Lobby" bastards aren't in league with each other?"

"From the info we currently have… It doesn't seem as much. It could be, yeah, but it also could be a red herring to divert our attention elsewhere while the owner moves the server around and shows it to those who have need of it." Ernst sighed and rolled his eyes.

"Man."

"Yeah, I know. It's getting frustrating. As if that wasn't enough we then got a message which said "The secret is within the Order"… And that's another rip-off too… Along with 1514 AD… AD didn't mean _Anno Domini_ but Albrecht Dürer… That was how you figured out that you needed the "magic square" to decode the earlier gibberish… The letters formed the Latin words "Jeova Santcus Unus"… Well. There were several more steps like placing a ring in a small hole beneath the pyramid's apex box and turning it 33 degrees to transform it… And it was a hint to point at alchemy… Which lead you to figure out that the earlier Latin wording was a famous scientist's nickname… Isaacus Neutonuus. Isaac Newton."

"He came up with that nickname? Somewhat arrogant, no?"

"Well. Guess that. Especially for you, seeing how your father is our village's vicar… And by bringing up Newton…"

"You figure out the next step?"

"Yeah. The next step was interpreting that the motto "all is revealed on the 33rd degree"… And now "degree" meant "degree" as in temperature: Newton made up his own scale in which 33 degrees is the temperature at which water boils… So you had to heat up the pyramid in water to get the infamous "Eight of Franklin Square"… But, also, you revealed a grid with a chaos of symbols on the base…"

"Man. That pyramid thing sure was designed so that only someone who'd studied all of that could figure out how to decipher it."

"Yeah. And "Eight of Franklin Square" is another "magic square": and then the symbols seemed to point at Mason HQ yet… It'd seem that in truth they meant the Obelisk, the Washington Monument… Yet in the end the whole "Ancient Mysteries" weren't solid to begin with… Some complicated tale and all… In short: it was a total waste of our time and energies…"

"Huff. Really."

CRACK!

"Chut. Someone's coming." Ernst hushed.

"Laika?"

"Don't think so… My demonstration some months ago should've kept the guy at bay…" He muttered.

He looked towards the ground path leading to the house and spotted a figure walking down the path while illuminating with a flashlight: Ernst signaled the upper branches and Alec calmly climbed there while he drew his Link PET.

"Denpa – Henkan. Ernst Stroger, On Air." He hushed.

The energy cocoon formed and surrounded him as he achieved End Angel's shape: he got invisible and slowly flew down until he was some inches from the ground: he followed the figure as they stopped in front of the house and they seemed to shudder.

"_Comrade_. Did you get lost?"

"UA~H!"

"So. You're the diver?"

"I didn't want to~! The ghost server guy was threatening me~!"

"Then who are you?"

"J-Jenkins Smith… NSA!"

"NSA? In this lost village somewhere in Latvia?"

"I'm o-off duty… T-the jerk's been bossing me around… To try to stop my investigation on the ghost server…!"

The guy named Jenkins Smith was on his 30s and had brownish hair plus brown eye irises.

He had reading glasses on.

He sported a brownish t-shirt, shorts and sandals.

He was currently shuddering as End Angel set his glare on the guy: he'd drawn out an ID card as well.

"Hum. How did the guy start threatening you?"

"Called me home, at my mobile, sent me emails… I couldn't trace back any of those…! And then sent me that weird stuff through post mail: the return address was a fake, too… There were no fingerprints… He then sent me an encoded PET for direct communication… I didn't want to but he sent me a bomb-package too!" He explained in a rush.

"Do you have that PET?"

"Y-yeah! Have it! I'm off!"

Smith drew a gray PET and handed it to End Angel before running away as if he was going to be slaughtered alive.

"Hum. At least we got something solid. I'll report to the Prince ASAP and call for someone to rendezvous with me and pick it up: the sooner we analyze it the better. The guy surely didn't foresee this."

"Guess he was afraid that if the NSA joined the investigations, too, given their high potential and how they can order private Internet companies to hand over customer data, he could be found out so…" Alec ventured as he climbed down the trunk of the tree.

"Good point, Alec. I'll open the communication… Hello? Prince?"

"Did something happen, Ernst?"

"The diver was an NSA investigator threatened by the ghost server owner: he handed me a PET which the culprit sent him. It would be wise to start analyzing it ASAP before the guy realizes that the jig's up."

"Good. I'll come myself to fetch it. I want to get to the bottom of this stupid tale. I've had enough with this insult to my honor."

"Roger, sir."

There was a flash as purplish energy formed out of nowhere and gave way to a disc: Kuroban (with his armor on) stepped out and End Angel saluted as he handed the PET over: Kuroban examined it for a few seconds and then nodded.

"I'll be in the Panama base. The Philippines one could be under surveillance from the guy."

"Roger, sir."

"Meet you later."

Kuroban stepped back into the gateway and it vanished as quickly as it had formed: End Angel sighed and released his "Denpa – Henkan" while stretching: he sat down next to the trunk and so did Alec.

"Hey. To switch moods… Why don't you play the newest broadcast?"

"Oh yeah."

"Welcome! Today… In V-B-N… _The Atomic Sulfate_! Part 2! Summary of the previous part: M&F need to enter the Republic of Tirania and get the Atomic Sulfate back! But F got caught by the border guards! M has to rescue him somehow! And… _Action_!"

"… "Aha! Gotcha! I'll use my Tiranaia Army Captain General disguise and order his release!"… "HEIL, MEIN HAUPTMANN GENERAL!"… "Heh, heh, heh! Looks like it's working…"… "HEIL!"… BLAM! "Gotta step in with energy and decision!"… "He… Heil, Mein Hauptmann General…"… "Heil!"… "Heil!"… "AUF SEIN BEFEHL!"… "W-what'd ya say? Crap! Now I realize I dunno the local idiom! What am I gonna say? Well! See~! I! Prisioneren… Gongeqin… Liberato… Sa-san-aha-manh! Yes! Immediatelien… Podfoskofj… Whisky & soda… Liberté le prisionere… Corpo di baco!"…"

"Trying to improve along the way, eh?" Alec chuckled.

"Yeah… It'd seem "Auf Sein Befehl" means "At your command"…"

"… "Well, I… Going for a "businessen" and soon-soon come back! Heh, heh! Goodbye! Bye-fella~!"… "TO HIM! SPION! SPIES! ÜBERBRINGEN! BRING 'EM TO ME!"… "ALARM!"… "Ein, Zwei, Ein, Zwei, Ein…"… "AUF WAFFE! ON GUN!"… "Full speed a… OFF!"… "Devil! The whole of the army's comin' for me! What do I do~? Ah! A dung beetle! The sulfate! Here, fella… Eat up!"… "Gotcha!"… "Ein, Zwei, Ein, Zwei, Ein, Zwei, Ein…"… "First one who catches 'im gets the merit!" … "Can I shoot, Corporal? Can I?"… "AHEAD! AHEAD!"… FALP! "AH! A~H! BACK! AUXILIEN!"… "Ein zwei drei ver, ein zwei drei ver, ein…" … "UA~H!"… "They're back! Heh, heh! I'm going to crush that spy!"… CRACK! BLAM! BRRRLOMB! "What's this about? BRRR! CORPORAL! WHERE'S THE SPY!" … "E-escaped, Mein Kommandant… A dung beetle is chasing us and…!"… "A… A DUNG BEETLE~? GRRBLL! 30 DAYS OF PRISON! Escaping like old women from a dung beetle… Brrr… You! How dare you block the…? UA~H! ALLO? 36th Attack Squad? Quick! Patch me to General Bombassen! My General, we can't come out of Kommandatur! There's a dung beetle in the door! Send a tank to liquidate it!"…"

"What chaos! And M got lucky: finding the dung beetle and using the Sulfate spray on it…" Alec chuckled.

"… "A tank? You want me to send a tank to liquidate a dung beetle, Kommandant? HAVE YOU GONE MAD, KOMMANDANT?" … BRRROM! CRRAC! CLICK! "Line got cut: they didn't pay the bill? ALARM! REISSEND! Send a tank to check on the border post!"… "AUF SEIN BEFEHL!"…"

"… "Ua~h!"… "Auxilien!"… "I'm drowning!"…"

"Heh! The dung beetle made up his ball out of the ruin of the border post building, eh?"

"Of course."

"…"Horror! That bug made up his ball with the Kommandatur… And Boss was inside! Gotta get him out somehow… If it's Boss then the XB7 method will work!"… "5Z! MINE! It's genuine!"… "Quick, Boss, let's run!"… "C-can't run anymore, I'm beaten!"… "Got an idea, Boss! We'll do auto-stop!"… "Lucky me… PFFF! My feet ache!"… "How lucky! A car's coming!"… It was a tank and it crushed F's feet! Shah, shah, shah! M used a 5Z coin: it'd seem it makes a distinct sound when hitting the ground: that lured F outta the ball!"

"Burn! "OUA~H!"… "Come on, Boss! That was nothing! Put on the shoes and we'll stop another car!"… "What's up? Did the war break out? Did it break out?"… "D-dunno… GLUB! We're tourists! Can you bring us to the capital city?"… "Ah! Tourist… JA! Climb in. Be careful not to touch the howitzer's fuse!"… "T-the howl…? GLUB!"… "We gotta be ready, cha know? War is gonna break out sooner or later! Hah, hah! Our President, Brutestauzen, has a new offensive weapon! Gonna turn on the radio: they can order general mobilization anytime now!"… "Warning, warning! Warning to all civilian populace… ACHTUNG! GEFARLICH SPION! 2 dangerous spies crossed the border! Must be halted NO MATTER WHAT! Their physical traits are… One, tall, bald with glasses and dresses black… Two, with two hairs and idiot face…"… "Tall & bald? 2 hairs? Where have I…? DEVIL AND DEMONNEN! It's them! Where are they? Where? I'm gonna go report to the GEHEIM-POLIZEI!"… They were atop the car!"

"Video here! "Let's take the chance to jump and get away!"… "Trockenstrom"… Strom means river! We'll cross over a river!"… "And "trocken"? What did it mean? It rings a bell!"… "Don't think of trivial stuff! We're on the bridge! Let's jump to the water!"… "Yeah! Let's go!"… "OUMP!"… "UA~H! NOW I REMEMBER!"… "DEAR!"… "Troc… Trocken, means "dry"… Trockenstrom… "Dry river"…!"…"

"… "You could've remembered that earlier, couldn't you? BRRR!"… "Now what? Radio told our description: we can't borrow a drive." … "I see a truck! Gotcha!"…"

"Heh! F is slow when it comes to remembering idioms."

"Yeah. According to the notes "Geheim-Polizei" is the Secret Police and "Gefärlich Spion" is "Dangerous Spies"…"

"… "We'll climb into a tree and, when it drives past, we jump into the container… We'll reach the capital city unseen!" … "Good!"… "It's coming… Let's get ready!"… "Go!"… "Now, Boss! Jump!"… "HORROR! NO! UA~H!"… "HELP!"… PLOUF! Banner: Flüssigzement. "Grrrmmbbl! Concrete! It's a liquid concrete transport!"… "Yeah! The laundry will be expensive!"…. "It looks like it's heading to building being built!"… "Glub! I can picture myself walled into a concrete pillar…"… "It's slowing down: let's jump!"… "Again! We seem grasshoppers!"… Banner: Under Construction Building for the GRAND TIRANIA CANNON FACTORY. Satellite factory Number 427"… "We gotta get rid of this before it dries."… "Boss! These drums have water! Hurry! Bath's ready!"… "Coming!"… CHOP! … "Tar! This drum's full of tar! OW! OW! OW!"… "Come on, Boss, it's nothing! I'm not using a burner, anyway!"… Heh! Be glad it ain't my trigger-happy burners!"

"Cannon factory, huh? Guess they're for the tanks." Alec guessed while chuckling.

"Cannon Man's business." Ernst chuckled.

"… "Well. Don't get annoyed. You sew it and done! Point is: you're cleansed!"… "There are some clothes here. I'll change!"… "While you put on the Sunday suit I'll check the area. I don't think they'll figure me out with this mason disguise!"… "HE, DEIN!"… "Huh?"… "It's been 3 hours since he left… They surely caught him! Ah, no! He's finally back! But…What happened to you?"… "Ow! Don't mention it, Boss! Don't mention it! M-my kidneys… Ow! They mistook for a real worker and I had to raise a brick wall of 32 per 7 meters!"… "Well. Did you figure something out?"…"

"… "Well, they were on chatting about "heute kommen"… Besuchen… I mean… Erbaueng… Präsident Bruteztrausen…"… "Devil! That means that the Big Boss in person will come see the construction!"… "Huh! When he sees my wall…!"… "Sirens! I-it's the guy! Bruteztrausen!"… "And his personal escort! We've been seen!"…"

"See! The guy's limo and his bike-riding escort… Heading all speed ahead into the entrance, where M & F are at… End of part 2!"

"Man! What cliffhangers!"

"Cliffhangers sure they are."

"Well then! Stay tuned for the next part! V!"

"B!"

"N!"

"V-B-N! Off Air and Off Sea!"

"Off Sea, eh?" Alec chuckled.

"Not bad."

"Oh well. Guess we should try to be somewhat more optimistic: those "Lobby" guys won't last that much longer, right?"

"Nah… They won't. Their days are counted."

"Good. By the way, what happened with the flying robot? Its mottoes seem to have changed?" Alec asked of Ernst.

"Oh, that. The Prince picked some character named the "Primordial" featured in some novels by an author named Greg Bear… And some quotes from the _Halo 3_ game… Like this one…"

Ernst fumbled with the PET's holographic screen and brought up a menu with a list of files: he pressed his right index finger into one and some audio began to play back.

"… "…are here to spread "comforting news"… To let all living beings in this galaxy know… are not alone in the…" …"

"Yikes."

"What in that message could possibly be taken as a source of concern? It has been said… secret of peace cannot… be imposed…. That… meaning of peace, so they need to… When all living beings look through… and the thunder and the surf, when every drop of rain falls on… know peace." A slow voice intoned while making prolonged pauses between phrases.

"Huh… That sounds creepy already. And there's more?"

"Yeah… There's more… These are fragments of an interrogation an AI conducted to a mysterious compound entity over 40 years while stuck in one research facility…" Ernst explained.

"… "It seems that it… turn to apologize; it was never… intention to misrepresent… have been "in communication" with your creators since… stumbled upon each other, but… message has "fallen on deaf ears"… am not the recipient of the message…am the origin of the message…"…"

"It seems to skip personal pronouns, right?"

"Yeah. Guess it doesn't need to use one since it's a being built up from several others' pieces…"

"… "That is a choice you must make yourself… to be like how your creators go about things… As long as we are talking about choices… could talk about the "barrier" you alluded to earlier? Perhaps there is a way to accomplish your mission without violence? Why put the lives of those on your ships at risk if there is no need?"…"

"I'll leave it at here. Let's go have a walk in the forest."

They both walked into the forest following a path for a few minutes: they reached a large lake covered by some low-hanging early morning fog: they sat on the edge of a wooden pier: Ernst sighed as he looked at its water.

"… I remember: I used to come to fish… Those sweet years won't come back… But I avenged Mother… One day… I'll come to fish here again… To recall those days… Those days I don't want to forget: where the sun was bright and warm… I wonder if I'll ever recover my old happiness…"

14:54 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. The suitcase is ready."

"Are we travelling somewhere, Enzan – sama?"

"You know that when off-duty you can be natural."

"I mean… Why the rush, Enzan – kun?"

"Kuroshiro tipped me off."

"Someone's coming to attack you?"

"More like to drag me to a Living Hell."

"An accomplice of the Latvian?"

"Worse."

"It wouldn't be your father, would it?"

"Close. My uncle Shuukenin."

"I think you haven't seen each other for… 4 years?"

"Correct. Now it turns out he's into the business and he's had a stalker take photos of me… And he wants to turn me into his pet…"

"By all the… Why didn't you tell Superintendent Oda?"

"Kuroshiro did. But it turns out the man is in unknown whereabouts."

Enzan was speaking with Blues (who'd materialized) while closing up a travel suitcase and picking a set of keys plus his wallet: Blues began to ask what was going on and Enzan sighed as he turned on the radio.

"So we're going to camp in _Purgatory_."

"With the imitator?" Blues grumbled.

"Oh come on. Quit that already." He rolled his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Enzan – kun, but that man makes my blood stir."

"Whatever. Just behave."

"Roger."

DING – DONG!

"Someone came to pick us up?" Blues wondered.

"No. I did say I'd go to the port on my own. So it's THE man. Or a proxy of the guy." Enzan grumbled.

"What do we do?"

"Stay right behind me. It'll open with the security chain on."

"Roger."

Enzan headed to the door and looked out through the peephole: he grumbled under his breath.

"THE man in person… Do me a favor and look out through the window at the street: I'm sure he's brought a car. Not a limo: it'd call for attention and he surely doesn't want that. I'll pick the case, pretend to get along and if the thing looks dangerous, you unlock the car from the inside while stopping it and we jump out." Enzan exposed.

"Yeah. There's a blue Hyundai." Blues reported.

"Good. Get into the PET."

Blues nodded and dematerialized as Enzan picked the case and opened the door with the security chain on: the man in the hall did look like his father but his hair was blacker in color and his eyes' irises were brown: he looked amused.

Today he sported a black suit, a white shirt, red tie, brown pants and shoes.

"Uncle, sir. It's been a while, sir."

"My dear nephew… It's been too long. Why don't you come with me to have an excursion around the city?"

"I am sorry, sir, but I need to pick a train, sir. I have an assignment in Oosaka, sir." Enzan politely replied.

"Oh well. Then let me drive you to the station."

"Roger, sir."

Enzan locked the apartment and calmly picked the elevator along with his uncle to go down into the hall: they exited outside and Enzan climbed into the Hyundai's passenger seat: his uncle sat in the driver's seat and he looked amused as he turned the car on and drove.

"Oh. Yes, yes… By the way, Enzan… Your companion was not that strong in the end, eh?"

"… Do excuse me?" He merely lifted the right eyebrow.

"Heh, heh, heh. I saw it."

"Is that so?"

"How foolish of you… To step into a trap like this…"

"On the contrary."

Enzan suddenly lifted the emergency brake and the car's wheels locked: it skidded sideways in a brusque manner and the driver struggled with the wheel: there was a click and the door unlocked so Enzan quickly jumped out and ran away into a nearby side-street.

"Call for a Converter. The sooner we get to the haven, the better, or else things will turn awry."

"Roger, Enzan – sama."

"You won't escape, you damned BRAT! I've got you marked: no – one escapes me!" His uncle roared close by.

There was the familiar column of white light and Enzan got warped out of the street as the man rushed in: the man snarled and ran back into the car which sped away.

"What the heck happened? Guess I've been drinking too much _sake_ lately and I'm starting to get visions." One pedestrian wondered.

_Better quit the stuff…!_

19:19 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Huff… But, really, Enzan – kun… You're somewhat impatient, aren't you?"

"Heh. Guess that, Kuroshiro."

"You've just come here escaping your uncle's madness and you suddenly want to have sex with me…"

"Since Junior ain't around…"

"He'd agreed to go shopping with the club, see."

"The Shopping and Bearing With It Club?"

"What's with you?"

"Guess my cold, sarcastic self pushed its way to the surface."

"How lovely."

"Ain't it? Man. No wonder Junior likes having sex with you. You're so damned horny."

"Guess that."

Enzan was now in Kuroshiro's bedroom and having sex with him as he was on top of him: Kuroshiro was rolling his eyes and had placed both hands behind his head as if being resigned while Enzan grinned.

"Anyway… Blue Wave dropped a report… Newer data suggests that your uncle has also found the server and bought Drill Man's data: guess he was planning to break through your firewalls and get essential info but didn't know that you use a laptop to begin with." Kuroshiro let out.

"Huff. My uncle has always been the black sheep, you know? Father did turn cold with him plenty of years ago. It'd seem he's been trying to pick money off Father's businesses but always left some trail behind in a sloppy manner… The smart-lass wannabe."

"Man. What's with the uncles? Your uncle, Uncle Merton, Uncle Moran, Uncle Moriarty… This town's gone mad, really."

"Heh. Guess that. But what drives me mad is your damned horny chest: how do you do that?"

"Oh come on. Not like I get my chest like that 'cause I wanted. Pure casualty: such is Nature. Random." He rolled his eyes.

"I like how you can keep a straight face despite me thrusting in and out your ass for the last 5 or 6 minutes… I'm teasing you, Kuroshiro. I missed some sex as of late… Blues is one deal but you… Heh."

"Jeez. What bonds me and Netto – kun isn't just sex, you know! We help each other!" Kuroshiro protested.

"Heh! Guess that. Let's get serious already."

Enzan pulled the covers over them and began to move faster: Kuroshiro groaned and Enzan chuckled.

"N-not fair, Enzan – kun! Too fast! Gimme some time to get used to this pace!"

"Too bad. I can be one-sided from time to time, Kuro – kun." Enzan told him.

"Please! Don't mix me with that OVA boy." He groaned.

"Heh, heh, heh. Gotcha."

"Uh! Oh! Don't start to rub my nipples next…! You're sneaky, Enzan – kun!"

"Sneaky Enzan dropped by with the 1:11 PM Enzan-ville Express." He chuckled at his own improved joke.

"Oh…! Come on…! O~h! No more~! It's thrusting deeper and deeper inside! I'm getting into the mood…! I wanna feel you closer…! I wanna hug you and rub your nipples wih mine…!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Guess I have ESP."

_Heh. This makes up for the fuss of having to leave my apartment for some days' time… Let's have some fun! And Uncle… You lose! Heh!_

17:47 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Crash 'n drill! Drill Man – sama is here! No puny firewall can stand up to my Cyber Space Destruction Power!"

"CSDP! Communist Securing Discussing Party! Tee, heh, heh!"

"Yaito – sama…"

"You, the butler! Is Blues here?"

"Blues – dono? No."

"Hah! I know it. You're hiding the punk… No Muramasa Blade will save that punk's hide! Not while I'm around! Hah!"

"Heh! Glyde! Bring out the arsenal Talia al Ghul forgot here the other day around, my charming Yaito – Glider."

"Ya… Yaito – sama!"

"Enough chit chat! I'm gonna drill ya into DUST!"

Drill Man EXE broke inside of the Ayanokouji Mansion Cyber World by literally drilling his way through the firewall: Glyde was in the large square and a forum board could be spotted at his right: he looked panicked while Yaito sounded amused.

"Ayanokouji Jr.! Is Enzan there?" Shuukenin demanded.

"Who are ya? His Number 1 Hater?"

"Grura~h!"

"He's got a Garuu as watch-dog, eh?"

"Yaito – sama…!"

"Enough chatter! Triple Drill!"

Drill Man compacted into his attacking form and formed another two drills at his sides as they shot on forward.

"Gotcha, ugly. Battle Chip, Spark Ball 3! Slot In!"

"Uack!"

The Spark Ball hit Drill Man and halted his movements.

"Now! Glyde! You scored Counter Hit, so…! Double Point! Video Man! Navi Plus 20! Attack Plus 30! GO~!"

Video Man formed in the scene and shot two rolls of tape left and right of Drill Man which spun upon their own axis 3 times thus hitting 6 times: combined with the power bonus, that inflicted a lot of damage on the guy given his groaning and how he stepped back.

"WHAT? 520? This combo inflicted 520 damage~?"

"Video Man: the ultimate cheating Navi Chip!" Yaito giggled.

"Damned them! Golden Star!"

"Somebody called the director? _Action_!"

Video Man calmly stepped in while rubbing his chin with the right hand and grinning: Drill Man howled something undecipherable and shot towards the guy but he swung the right index finger left and right as if to tell him it wasn't a good idea.

"Double Point! Super Vulcan! Attack+30! Total: 210! Go~!"

Video Man drew the Super Vulcan and powered it up before unleashing the 12 rounds on Drill Man as he crouched into an angle to hit his unarmored portion: Drill Man groaned and suddenly dove into the ground to drill through it and there was the sound of a Plug-Out.

"Not very talkative!" Video Man chuckled.

"At all! Talia al Ghul's arsenal made him run for his bucks!" Yaito giggled.

"Heh, heh, heh. Well then. I'll be on my way back."

"Sure. Drop anytime. I need inspiration."

"Delighted, Mistress!"

"Oh no… The last thing we needed!"

18:03 PM (Japan Time)…

"… HORRAY~!"

CRASH!

"Intruder alert! Intruder alert!"

"Show your damned hide, Blues!"

"Ya wanna brawl?"

"Who's there? Ah! You! Punk EXE!"

"Heh! So ya have heard of me!"

"Of course! Ya captured Saiko Rei, one of our men!"

"Oh yeah. The weird baldie fella."

"Did someone call for Meijin – sama?"

"Nya~h! The interlopers!"

Drill Man bust his way into the Net Police HQ to find Punk waiting for him there and looking ready for a fight: Meijin joined the chat and Drill Man growled.

"Mad Roller!"

"What! Uack!"

Punk suddenly turned into a sphere and rolled across the ground to then jump and hit Drill Man: the inertia made the guy recoil as Punk bounced off a large stone tower placed nearby: he hit Drill Man again with greater speed and Drill Man growled.

"Tunnel Crusher!"

He turned into compact mode and opened a hole in mid-air to enter inside and then reappear behind Punk: he hit the sphere mode but then a cloud of smoke happened and a _chibi_ doll of Punk hit the ground: 10 _shuriken_ rained down one after the other on Drill Man's body from behind before Punk in person bounced off his back too.

"Gurrra~h!"

"Wanna more, punk?" Punk challenged.

"You lowlifes! I'll bury you yet! Where's Blues!"

"Blues? Heh! Knowing the guy… And knowing what's goin' on… In the safest place ever! _Purgatory_! Take that, Mr. Drilling Match!" Punk laughed as he taunted the guy.

"Wha~t? Ya wanna brawl? I'll pierce ya yet!"

"PIERCE! Plucking Irregular Recycled and Crushed Elephant!"

"Who the…?"

"Gray Thunderbolt – sama~!"

Gray Thunderbolt suddenly showed up standing in a rock platform higher on the air and Drill Man cursed: he'd also made up another of his silly acronyms on the spot.

"So Ijuuin's black sheep uncle is the owner of the ghost server?"

"Shaddup, kid!" Shuukenin growled.

"Guess not and ya are another buyer." He sighed.

"Eat this! Triple Drill! I'm one of the Dark Four Heavenly Kings! If ya look down on the great me ya get into TROUBLE~!"

"TROUBLE! Trolling Rolling Originating Undermining Boiling Legging Escalator!" Gray Thunderbolt improvised another acronym.

"Fuck! I'm fed up. You're next!"

"Oho. By the way: is Desert Man around?"

"No. I wasn't interested on the guy." Shuukenin grumbled.

"Too bad. I'd liked to have the guy for _desserts_."

"Guess Blues did have the guy as desserts back then." Punk muttered.

"Yeah. Guess that." Meijin sounded amused.

"Tunnel Crusher! Be crushed!"

"I'd rather object, Mr. Anderson! Come! "Voltolos"!"

The PKMN "Voltolos" formed in the air and glared at the incoming Drill Man: he lifted the arms and made a powerful thunderbolt fall into the guy and it electrocuted him: Drill Man howled.

"GURURURARARA~H!"

"Plug Out!"

The guy escaped and Punk chuckled while Gray Thunderbolt shrugged and seemed to be disappointed.

"Too frail, too frail. That Shuukenin guy bought the data like that: I'm sure it's weakened on purpose." He muttered aloud.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Meijin didn't seem to find it odd.

"SURPRISE! Snake of Underrated Policy with Rattling Individual Seats of Elegancy!" He improved yet another acronym.

"Earth, swallow me whole…" Meijin grimly muttered.

"By the way, Meijin – sama! What happened to your PTS?"

"PTS? Pulse Transmission System? Too dangerous. It's rusting."

"Rusting, eh? You gave some job to Rusting Man, eh?"

"Oh come on! Gray Thunderbolt! Stop meddling around. Go do something useful like finding that elusive ghost server owner!"

"Sure. That's my job, anyway. That Shuuseki guy is discarded. Maybe the owner is a "Mikaruge" PKMN to begin with? Evil and Ghost! Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh… My Carnage!"

Chuckling, he vanished with his trademark effect and Punk shrugged while Meijin seemed to be thinking.

_Who is this elusive owner who has been eluding everyone for about 4 years already? I've got a bad feeling about this!_


	15. Chapter 15: Familiar faces

**Chapter 15: Familiar faces**

09:49 AM (Japan Time), Monday May the 30th…

"… Fish! Fresh fish! Recently fished! Neat! New! Clean! Filled with calcium: rich healthy calcium!"

"Oi! Gramps!"

"You! Brat! Watch your tongue! You're addressing Masa – sama: number one fish vendor in the city!"

"I heard ya have some strong Navi: that true?"

"What's with that dialect? Hokkaido dialect? Hah! A punk from Hokkaido comes to challenge me and Shark Man?"

"No punk! Aragoma Torakichi – sama and King Man! Get ready, gramps, 'cause I'll win in 4 moves!"

"Hah! I'd like to see ya tryin', my chum! Go, Shark Man!"

"Sharkssss…"

"Hum! 1st move!"

Masa, the Akihara Town fish vendor, had set up stand in the plaza along with others: Aragoma Torakichi then stepped into the spot while looking rather cocky and confident: both drew their PETs and aimed them at the stand's register: a 3D arena made of 18 squares colored red and blue depending on the side formed and both Navis showed up there: Shark Man's dummy fins did and so did King Man's "Knight" and his 2 "Pawns": Aragoma chuckled and Masa grinned.

"Battle Start!"

"Go, King Man! Stalker Knight!"

"Hum!"

"Go, Shark Man! Slice 'em clean!"

"Yesss… Fin Cutter!"

Shark Man dived and his fins shot forward and past the "Pawns" yet they didn't hit King Man because he moved in time to dodge: Shark Man then emerged and formed the Aqua Tower attack yet he forgot the "Knight" which fell down from above and hit him: Shark Man groaned.

"Strategy Change!"

"What!"

The "Pawns" moved one row forward and a "Rook" showed up in front of King Man: they both drew Long Swords and hit Shark Man twice in a row: he dived again.

"By all the…!" Masa cursed.

"Heh! Ya better don't look down on Aragoma – sama, gramps!"

"This impudent kiddo! I'll make ya regret it yet!"

"Fin Cutter!"

"Strategy Change!"

The Pawns changed spot and the Rook got in front of Knight Man to block and repel Shark Man.

"Checkmate!"

"What! Ugra~h!"

"Wha! Shark Man!"

"Match Over."

King Man jumped and landed atop Shark Man: he groaned and collapsed while an auto-voice signaled the end of the match.

"Victory achieved in less than 5 moves!"

"Good job, King Man, my fella! How's this one like, gramps?"

"Nyugrugrugruh! Alright! Here: your prize!"

"Hey! Whatcha doin'! Uwa~h!"

Masa suddenly lifted a box and tossed a ton of fishes at Aragoma: he got buried under the pile and Masa merely shook the dust off his hands while shrugging.

"Calcium is vital, kids! Eat a lot of it!"

"Grugrageh!" Aragoma managed to pop out from the pile and spat one fish's tail which had gotten in his mouth.

"Heh! So?"

"Grah! That doesn't change that I won this match! I'm off through the Off Road! Hah!"

Aragoma rushed away while grumbling under his breath: he pocketed his hands and stopped to smell his clothes.

"Fuck. Now I smell of fresh fish! The old man!"

"It would be wise to calm down, Aragoma – sama." King Man calmly suggested.

"That's easier said than done! But least I get some screen-time after those Golden Star nerds and Ijuuin and those Shunoros nerds stole it from the great me~!"

"Well. What a pity, really. My fellow conspirer enchanted by Uncle Meron's cologne."

"Who the heck!"

"Netsuhonoo Robin! I burn with flames of the summer!"

Netsuhonoo laughed as he popped out of a side-street and Aragoma brandished the right fist.

"Wanna brawl?"

"Wanna know Uncle Moriarty's subtleness and craftiness?"

"What the heck?"

"Don't worry! Fella… The only thing ya need is… a shower. With cologne."

"Stop meddling with me~!" He growled.

"Yo and behold. Oreichalcos Boundary!"

"What!"

Netsuhonoo suddenly signaled Aragoma's feet: the ground glowed with a fluorescent greenish glow as a green spinning ring fell down from above and landed in the ground: it stopped rotating and 22 symbols suddenly showed up in the rim: it turned out that it was a word of 11 symbols repeated twice if one looked closer at them.

"What the…?"

"Chut, chut. Watch and see."

Two parallel vertical lines formed as emerging from two of the symbols in both ends: a new line formed to interconnect both parallel lines and created the shape of the Alphabet "N" character: a horizontal line spanning the whole width of the circle formed at the middle point across the "N" character's length: two more lines formed in both ends: the one in the left end headed upwards while the one in the right end headed downwards.

"I don't like this!"

"Don't worry. It doesn't bite. It barks."

"T-this JERK!"

These lines made contact with the unused ends of the initial parallel lines and they completed the drawing: the resultant figure was a kind of tall and narrow diamond with four pyramid-like extensions on both sides which popped out around the mid-section of the tall diamond figure. Two diagonals lines were placed inside of the diamond itself, connecting the outer spooks and forming the shape of the Alphabet "X" character.

"The Oreichalcos Boundary! It's gonna steal your soul!"

"What!"

"Converge! Oreichalcos Boundary!"

"Uwa~h!"

"… Heh! Fainted! They always fall for the same setup!"

The "Boundary" had shrunken until it was as wide as Aragoma and a column of green light formed: Aragoma shrieked in panic and then fainted so he collapsed in the ground in a weird manner: Netsuhonoo chuckled and looked amused at the scene.

"Aragoma – sama? What happened?"

"Don't worry, Mr. Moustaches Of Stone! The guy will be fine: just give 'im a while to wake up of his perv dreams."

"You ruffian!"

"Heh, heh, heh. _No pain no gain!_ The Court of Owls sends greetings! Don't forget to drop by Gotham City one day~!"

Netsuhonoo laughed as he rushed away: he walked down a street while stuffing both hands on his pockets and chuckled under his breath: he suddenly gasped and jumped backwards as some bluish flames got shot out of a side-alley.

"Magic Fire! You're mine! Shunoros member!"

"I'd rather object, Mr. Robbed Wannabe. Transfer!"

Magic Man suddenly came out of the side-alley but Netsuhonoo smirked and got warped out through the white energy column: Magic Man howled something undecipherable.

"FINE! I'll assault the middle school! That should lure Golden Star out: I'll get the codes from them! Or force them to! Magic Man has spoken: the Crimson Lobby is about to display its true terror!"

He ran off but failed to see that Netsuhonoo had merely warped atop a nearby rooftop: Magic Man turned invisible and was soon out of sight so Netsuhonoo rubbed his chin.

"Hum. We don't want carnage so… I'd rather follow the guy and disable the Copy Roid. If the fight gets to the Cyber World, then… The better."

11:05 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Hey Lo! I beat Hey Lo!"

"By all the… Dekao. Didn't you say you'd gotten serious? The exams are upon us!"

"It's _Halo_! H – A – L – O! Did you ever bother to look it up on Google?"

"I don't need to! Dekao – sama is a walking encyclopedia! I know all anyone needs to know!"

"What's Android?"

"Huh? A robot!"

"It has another meaning."

"Dunno."

"Then you're contradicting yourself."

"Wha~t?"

"It's an Operating System for smart-phones. Do you know what an OS is to begin with?"

"I don't need to!"

"Then you'll never get too far in life."

"E~H?"

Dekao began to boast in the class where only Netto and Saito were present during break time: both had been trying to relax when he began to get cocky and both shot down his poor attempts to play the smart guy with increasing annoyance.

SLAM!

"Magic Fire!"

"What the… Get down!"

"Uwah!"

The sliding door was suddenly slammed towards the right and Magic Man opened fire on them: they all ducked and Magic Man laughed as he shot at the walls.

"Shit. Copy Roid!"

"Give me the CODES!"

"You bully. Pick someone of your size. Here: _Navajo_ knife!"

"Ugrah! You lowlife!"

"Who's that?"

"One of Shunoros: see the pendant?"

"Oh yeah!"

Netsuhonoo had shown up behind Magic Man and he drove a kitchen knife through his body: the chest began to frizzle and sparkle and some parts of the body began to revert to standard Copy Roid status: Netto and Saito had been wondering who it was when Saito spotted a pendant Netsuhonoo had: a gray diamond-shaped metal having a fluorescent green mineral was placed inside of the frame.

"Here: eat _Navajo_! There and here!"

Netsuhonoo kept on stabbing and Magic Man howled as the Copy Roid's status worsened: he aimed his arms at a projector set in the classroom's ceiling and emitted an IR laser over there, leaving the Copy Roid as it stopped working altogether.

"My turn to shine~! Go, Guts Man!"

"Gattsu~! Gattsu, gattsu, GATTSU~!"

"Plug In! Guts Man, Transmission!"

Dekao grinned and drew his Link PET which he aimed at the projector: the holographic screen turned on to show Magic Man pacing around in an annoyed manner and paying no heed to the shadow which was falling from above.

"GATTSU~!"

"Uwack!"

"Guts Hammer! Guts Punch!"

"You vandal!"

Before Magic Man could recover, Guts Man brought down his hammer into the ground to hit the guy along with the shockwave: he then punched him and sent him flying to crash further on ahead.

"Magic Fire!"

"Rocket Guts Punch!"

"Ugrah!"

"Guts Machine Gun!"

Guts Man shot the Guts Punch forward using a jet and hit Magic Man followed by a round of shots from his Guts Machine Gun: Magic Man growled and got up to his feet.

"Not bad. Now I come in. You coward. Face me."

Raging Flame came in and faced Magic Man while looking dull and unimpressed.

"Hey. Niisan… That's Raging Flame, right?" Netto whispered to Saito as they got up again.

"Yeah. So the earlier guy was his human ID…" Saito whispered back while nodding in agreement.

"Heh! Did ya see it? We're the best!" Dekao boasted.

"You merely caught the guy with the pants down and with some ill humor: had the guy fought seriously you'd stood no chance, Ooyama." Raging Flame dully replied.

"Huh? How do ya know me?"

"Eisei talked about you."

"Who's that?"

"Figure it out with your brains. If they don't boil into smoke while trying to, that is." He shrugged.

"Wha~t? This jerk!"

"Go! Garuu! 2 of them!"

"That won't do. Go, Nidoking."

"_Nidokingu~_!"

The "Nidoking" PKMN showed up and took in the attacks from the Garuus without getting a single scratch.

"Earthquake. Get away, Guts Man. I've got Float Shoes myself." Raging Flame ordered.

"Guts, guts. Plug Out, de guts."

Guts Man came out of the Cyber World as Nidoking jumped and landed on the ground: a powerful shockwave ensued and some of the ground formed a mound rising upwards which hit Magic Man: he growled but then Nidoking rushed for him.

"Life-risking Tackle!"

Nidoking tackled Magic Man and he howled in pain as he was pushed further in: some of the recoil inflicted damage to Nidoking but it didn't seem to care.

"Wanna more? Now I fight myself! Burning Mouth!"

He formed a large muzzle as wide as the arm and vomited a torrent of hi-temperature flames which set Magic Man on fire: he howled and cursed as parts of his body-suit got erased.

"These are no normal flames! My flamethrower uses a combo of UDHM and NTO: I took those from "The Fury" in _MGS3_ but who cares? Point is: these flames won't be put out so easily. Why don't you give it up, you proxy? Go pick someone of your size. Try to survive against "Barbatos"."

"D-damn them all! You will regret laughing at the Crimson Lobby: one day we shall rule it all! Our Master is Supreme!"

"Sure, sure. Get lost, you neo-world order fanatic."

"Magic… Escape!"

Magic Man finally fled and Raging Flame fumed: in the real world Dekao was already white while the twins merely displayed slight surprise or interest in what had happened.

"Get the point, Dekao? That's what happens when you brag: you call for the omens." Netto scolded.

"Uwa~h!" He ran off like he was going to be slaughtered alive.

"Man. How many times did the guy brag or lie by now?" Raging Flame asked with a hint of intrigue.

"Guess over 2,000 by now." Saito shrugged his shoulders like he didn't care too much about the deal.

"Jeez. The guy's spent these 4 years bragging and lying: talk about wasted life, man." He rolled his eyes.

"We'll agree with you on that."

"At least there are no marks or anything. If no – one noticed anything then the guy must've been invisible."

"Guess that. I came in with a "DC" into the storage room in this same corridor: I'll retrieve the Copy Roid and it might tell us something interesting about those bastards. See ya."

Raging Flame warped out of the Cyber World and into the real world before picking the Copy Roid and warping out again: both looked at the clock set over the blackboard.

"11:21… We've got time to go to the restroom and wash the face before the next group of classes."

"Man. What a morning. What will the afternoon be like, anyway?"

17:21 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hello? How odd. There's no – one. Hum… Guess I better set the PET close by to record in case some trouble ensues. I don't really trust that mysterious note I got during break time. At all."

Leon (sporting his middle school uniform) entered into the gym equipment storeroom: he carried his backpack and his sports bag and was looking around with a mistrusting look: he rummaged on his right pants' pocket and took out a note.

"… "Come to the P. E. storeroom after class. Got info for ya."… And no signature… Computer-written… Fishy, _too_ fishy. I don't believe it to be some random prank."

He quickly left both bags in the ground and placed his PET in the left wall atop a shelf: he then began to check behind the equipment and heard someone opening the door and closing it behind him: he turned around to see who'd come in.

"Hiya~…"

"… B – Class… Yadana Bruce…"

"Same one, Leon…"

The student who'd come in was about Leon's age but he could be about 4 inches taller: he had messy blackish hair and brownish eye irises.

He currently had a smug grin on his face and his eyes displayed lurking malice as he had his hands stuffed on his pockets: Leon merely lifted the right eyebrow.

"So. You called me here. What's the joke?"

"Ah. Ah. Yeah. The joke, yeah… That's… Well…"

He suddenly rushed forward while drawing a taser device from his right pocket: Leon merely stepped to the left and extended his right leg to trip the guy: he met the ground and hit his head against a wooden column: Leon picked the taser and held it up to look at it with an uninterested look.

"… Hmpf. I see. Oh well. I've got evidence. I'll talk with the homeroom teacher." He seemed to deduce what the deal was about.

He didn't wait for Yadana to recover: he picked the PET and his bags and stepped out while Yadana groaned and rubbed his head as he leant on the column and got to his feet.

"Heck. Out of the 5 guys I'd managed to "convince" in these 9 months this is the first who outsmarts me… That face…! Grah! Like I was boring: I like to see them tremblin' in fear…! Guess I still got a lot of stuff to learn from Cousin Samuel… Let's go to aunt's place… I know Cousin will be there this afternoon… Fuck."

He rushed out, picked his bags (hidden behind the rubbish bin) and rushed into the street: he did get to see Leon turning the corner with Ms. Secretary and he hissed under his breath: he rushed away and ran down some streets: he did some zigzag paths before he reached his destination and stopped to regain his breath.

"Huff, huff… Alright… Here's the place… No – one's looking!"

He looked up to see that he was facing a two-story building: the ground floor had a store with the banner "Satara-ya": the sliding glass door was thick and you couldn't see the insides.

"Here's the place…"

He stepped in: the store's space had three shelves which had books, magazines, _tankobons_, DVDs and Blu-Rays: a simplistic black metal chandelier which had artificial candles on it hung from the ceiling: the light-bulbs had been painted purple to create a creepier atmosphere: there also was a plain wooden door set mid-way across the opposite wall which was closed and had no banners: a counter had been set on the NE corner but there wasn't anyone there.

"Heh. Seen from the outside you can't tell this is a porn store: there's plenty of stuff sold in this place… _Yaoi, Yuri_, _femdom, dominatrix, S&M, BDSM_… For all tastes…"

"Welcome~! Oh. It's you, dear… Welcome, Bruce~…"

"Hey. Aunt Haruka."

"Did you come see Samuel & co.?"

"Yeah. Sure."

"They're in the 1st floor. You know the way."

"Thanks."

A woman on her late 40s or early 50s walked into the counter.

She could be about a meter and eighty tall: she had blonde curly hair and blue eyes irises.

She wore a simple sleeveless plain shirt, jeans with a black plain belt and white socks plus the slippers.

"Do you want something?"

"Don't bother, Aunt Haruka. I'll fetch it myself from the fridge."

"OK! Ah! By the way: they also booked Room 2 for 6 PM. Will you join them, Bruce?"

"As spectator? Sure thing. You know me, Aunt."

"This is my lil sneaky nephew, yeah. Go ahead."

Yanada smirked and opened the door at his right to enter the entrance of the house section: he took out his sneakers, placed them in the cupboard, and put on the slippers: he climbed the stairs and opened the sliding door into a room where Eisei, Urateido and Sieg were at, sitting in cushions and playing with a Wii console at _Great Melee Smash Brothers X_: they seemed to be absorbed on it and didn't notice Yanada's entrance: he dropped the bags and sat on a 4th cushion behind them while sighing.

"Hit 'em, Koppa!" Urateido exclaimed.

"Like I'll let ya! Go, Falcon!" Sieg laughed.

"Heh! Go, Pikachuu! Zap 'em!" Eisei smirked.

"Heh. Having fun, huh?" Yanada muttered.

"Aw man! You kicked me out! Eisei!"

"So it's me and _Danna_! Go! Show me your moves! Falcon Punch!"

"Lightning Speed!"

"No way! I lost!" Sieg gasped.

"Heh, heh, heh. This is my 3rd victory out of 8 games!"

"Yeah, I know. I have 3 too." Urateido rolled his eyes.

"Got 2 but I don't care." Sieg shrugged.

"Hullo."

"Hey. Bruce. Been a while." Urateido turned around to greet.

"Go, laugh ahead." He grumbled.

"What, you missed?"

"Some guy named Leon."

"Heh! No wonder. _Ani – ue – sama_ won't be caught with the pants down so easily, man!" Sieg chuckled.

"What? You're brothers?"

"Yeah. But we fell apart 1 year ago, anyway."

"Huff. And what's with the guy?"

"Golden Star, see~…"

"Fuck. Golden Star. Then it's no wonder he turned it around in 5 seconds."

"Yessir. They've got an ex-Yakuza trainer, see."

"Fuck and FUCK."

"FUCK! First Ultimate Cracking Knot!" Eisei laughed at his acronym.

"Not again." The other 3 groaned.

"Again and again 'till the end of Time Eternal!"

18:09 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright. All's set. We're gonna start, Sieg."

"Go ahead. I missed the thrill."

"Heh. Spoken like a true masochist, yeah."

"Hey, Cousin, you'll let me fuck the guy too?"

"Of course. Here: you can spank the guy's ass."

"Good!"

Sieg had been geared in the same stuff the Latvian had used on Netto but he had a simple plastic plug on his urethra instead of that weird device and he didn't have a ball-gag on either: he'd been made to seat in a triangular wooden horse placed inside of a small brick-walled room: another chandelier like that in the ground floor provided the lighting: the horse had a spinning vibrator on it which was inside of Sieg's ass: his cock had already hardened too.

"Heh, heh, heh. Get ready, Sieg!"

"Shoot at 'em, _Danna_."

Yanada held a ductile plastic spatula and began to strike the sides of Sieg's ass: he chuckled while Yanada grinned and began to strike over and over again.

"Yeah… Some old-school thrill!"

"Heh! In the meanwhile… To cheer the mood… Let's play the latest broadcast. I wanna know what happens: the last chapter ended in a cliffhanger!" Eisei chuckled.

"Sure." Urateido grinned.

"… Welcome~! To V-B-N & The Atomic Sulfate! Part 3! Summary: M&F got past the border and after some trouble they reach a construction site! The Big Boss's car and his bike police rush for our heroes!"

"Man. That's some cliffhanger, sure thing."

"Go! … "Calm down, Boss, calm down! They ignored us!" … "Of course! They didn't hear the radio description! Now that the Big Boss is here we gotta get to the HQ and retrieve the sulfate! Got little time... We gotta get a vehicle no matter what!" … "Let me, Boss, let me… I'll crawl unseen and get one! Aha! No watch over it... Let's go! Quick, Boss, get in!"… "Devil! You could've gotten a far more discreet vehicle, couldn't you?"…"

"Construction site, so… Cement truck? No. It's gotta be an excavator: no wonder it'd call for attention." Yanada chuckled.

"I suspect it's the pincer model. It uses two halves of a cylinder to pick earth and store it inside of the closed prism." Urateido guessed.

"Shah, shah, shah! … "What did ya want me to do? There was no "600" at hand!" … "But...What are cha doing? We're heading straight for the guy's car!" …"Y-yeah, Boss... On it!" … "Quick, turn on the reverse!" … "The reverse...? Yeah... Gotta be this lever." … "No! It wasn't that lever!" … "Willcommen, Herr Präsident!" … "Maybe this other one..." … "It wasn't, it wasn't!" … "It's an honor for me to step into this...!"…"

"Hmmm… Oho. I've got a hunch. M doesn't know how to pilot the thing and actions levers at random… The pincers grab the car and lift it and then the Big Boss comes out and falls into the ground! What a blow!" Eisei explained.

"Man."

"Burning Burner! … "M-maybe pressing this button..." … "W-what does this mean? How dare you! Lower my car now!" … "You fool! You got it wrong again!"… The car falls atop the guy and he's pulled out the underside by an assistant!"

"My turn!" Yanada grinned.

He used a pair of short wooden planks on the sides of the horse to climb and then began to tease Sieg's nipples: he unzipped his pants' zip and drew his hardened cock which he stuffed into Sieg's ass: Sieg chuckled and began to moan in purpose to turn Yanada on.

"Man. It feels GOOD! Better than the school weaklings! 100 times better!"

"Sure thing. Leave us some dose, right?"

"Let's spice it up."

Urateido interacted with the legs of the horse and reduced its height so that it was almost at ground level: he drew his cock and had Sieg start sucking it up: Eisei sat on a chair and began to rub Sieg's cock to tease it with the right hand while gripping his balls with the left one.

"Heh. What a threesome!"

"Truly."

"Feels fun."

"…"YOU'LL REGRET THIS! YOU'LL BE IMPRISONED! YOU'LL BE EXECUTED! YOU... UA~H!" … The pincer caught his right index finger! He got lifted by the pincer too as the vehicle tried to escape! "It wasn't this lever, either." … "UWA~H! HELP! DIE WACHE! GUARDS!" … "Got it, Boss! I've got good reflexes!"… "The sirens! They're chasing us!"… "W-we're almost at the road, Boss!" … "GET 'EM! RIDDLE 'EM! RIP 'EM!"… The guy ended up hanging from a concrete column's steel bars! "They're catching up... This thing's too slow!" … "See, Boss, a snail!"… "What, you wanna hunt snails?" … "No, man! The sulfate!" … "SIEG! Gotcha 'em. Heh, heh. They're slower than a snail! MO... MOMMY!"…"

"Somebody called this guy?" Eisei laughed.

"Heh! My PET says "sieg" can mean "victory" in German."

"Why. So our guy here is named after "Victory", eh?"

"Man! I went off! Feels good… The vibrator tickles!"

"Heh! I went off too."

Yanada and Urateido released so they nodded to each other and changed places while Eisei whistled a tune as he kept on playing with Sieg's cock and balls: he was now dropping hot wax from a candle into his balls and Sieg didn't seem to mind that.

"Heh. It must feel scorching hot down there, eh, Sieg?"

"…"We're safe, Boss!"… "Let's get the sulfate ASAP!"… "Good! We're finally here!"… "Seems like a quiet city, eh, Boss?"… "OK. Stop somewhere and we'll walk." … "Yes, Boss. L-look! A patrol policeman!" … "Chut! Don't yell, you moron... We must be discreet! Let's get down and walk away naturally... Cut the contact!" … "Yes, Boss!"… The prism falls down and hits the policeman! "You go the lever wrong again, fool!" … "Be quiet and run, Boss! Run!"… They crash with a guy in charge of gluing posters! "S-sorry. We'll help you. You fix posters and I hold the pot..." … And the poster had their photos along with some text! AUFSUCHEN! SPIONEN! 10,000 Tiranten. ALIVEN O DEADEN. Suspense!"

"Trouble." Yanada laughed.

"…"THEM! IT'S THEM! GOT 'EM! POLIZEI~!"… The guy turns around but there's only an Indian fellow. "Devil! Where did they go? They were right here! Hey, _Danna_! Didn't you see 2 guys who were here?"… He talks in some foreign idiom! "A-ah. You're from Choina... S-sorry. Where are they hiding at? Where?"… He walks off and the fellow bows but his turban hits the ground. "Idiot! Who told you to bow?"… "Well, Boss, I tried to imitate the Eastern style... I..." … "Whole city gotta be filled with those banners... Even cats will recognize us!"… "Don't worry, Boss! I've got a wig and a beard! How is it? Heh, heh! Nobody will pay attention to a "ye-ye" musician walking with his grandpa!" … "Hum! We'll see. 1st step is to know Big Boss' HQ location. I'll ask." … "The PräsidentPalast? Ja... Go through the Atomiken Fungus Strasse, turn in Promenor Battleade, exit on Flare-Up Platz and there it is." … M takes off the wig and bows. "Thank you, sir!" … "DIE SPIONEN! THE SPIES! POLIZEI~!"…"

"That idiot! Always screwing it up." Urateido chuckled.

He'd drawn a portable vibrator and was using it to rub it against Sieg's nipples while licking the base of his neck from behind.

"…"Mmmm! Spionen! Helpen! Polizei~!"… M stuffs the trombone into the guy to muffle his voice! "Well, Boss, don't get annoyed. It is good manners to greet... I'm well-mannered!" … "Bad thing is: by now the Big Boss and the guards must be back!"… "GRRMMBBLL! My magnificent car dusted, these idiots' bikes busted... Brrr! Not enough vehicles!"…"

"He had to come back on foot?"

"On a bicycle!"

"Heh! How the mighty have fallen!"

"…"But, Excellency... I insist that a snail got in the way... We weren't drinking in any bar!"… "Offizier! Call the Secreten Polizei boss... He must report to my office ASAP!" … "AUF SEIN BEFEHL!" … "Flare-Up Square... There's the palace!"… "Yeah... And bit a closer, the guards!" … "We gotta get in no matter what! We need to think!" … "Gotcha, Boss! How do you say "down" in the local idiom?" … "Down? Well... "Herunter"... Why?" … "Heh, heh! You'll see! HERUNTER BRUTESTRAUSEN! HERUNTER!"…"

"And the guards get 'em with Kung-Fu?" Eisei laughed.

"…"See? Piece of a cake! We're inside!"… "Truly! We're inside! Brr! Now what?" … "Gotcha, Boss! Look at the warden!"… They're looking out from the cell-door's window. "Well, what's up with the warden? It ain't Sofía Loren!" … "Over the head, Boss! See? That spider! We treat it to a round of sulfate!" … "Who is the moron that... AH! A~H! HELP! EINE ARMMKRONLEUCHTER! A SPIDER! A SPIDER! UA~H! CHASING ME~!"…"

"Man. He surely ran faster than an express train."

"Note! He was yelling "an arm chandelier"…"

"…"Dear! If it was an elephant then what? Well! Where's the lil spider that scared Hans? Hah, hah, hah... A~H!" … "See, Boss? Now I use my fisherman disguise... And I get the keys! Let's run, run for it! On ahead, Boss! Path's clear!" … "Herr Chef of the Secreten Polizei, the Präsident is waiting on his office!" … "Roger! He must want to talk me about the 2 spies who got in... BRRR! IF I FOUND THEM...!"… They suddenly meet upon turning the corner!"

"His words come true!"

"…"Lucky us these lands are filled with insects, eh, Boss?"… He left the guy to play with a giant hornet! "Excellency! It's me, the Secreten Polizei Chief... Can I come in?"…"

"To get scolded?" Yanada chuckled.

"…"Come in! Herr Otto, you must know that 2 dangerous spies have come into the country!" … "Truly, Herr Präsident... AND THEY'RE INSIDE THE PALACE!" … "WHA~T? Devil! They must've come for the sulfate flask our agents got from their nation! We gotta move it to a safe spot! And you must get those 2! IM-ME-DIA-TE-LY!" … "Y-yes, Excellency... Ja..."… He went on using a finger to tap on his head!"

"Tap-tap-tap!" Urateido chuckled.

Both he and Yanada had stepped down: Yanada had placed the 2nd vibrator on Sieg's ass and he picked a set of 3 clothes pegs connected by a string to a small ring: he clipped those in the nipples and in the middle of the balls to then begin pulling: Sieg seemed to shrug as the white stuff slid down his chin and fell into the horse.

"…"If they get back the sample before we find out the formula, our offensive plans will collapse and... DEVIL! THE FLASK! WHERE IS IT?" … "W-well... You can search me but..." … He now had a small tortoise on his right hand! "Heh, heh! I'm skilled at swapping, eh, Boss?" … "Good work! We gotta get outta here!" … M disguised as a decorating armor and when the guy got distracted he swapped them! End of part 3!"

"Alright. So they got the flask. Now the hard part will be making it outta the country." Sieg chuckled.

"Man. This guy's a real masochist: he chats and all." Yanada laughed.

"Meh! _Ane – ue – sama_ trained me well." He shrugged.

"Alright. I guess mom will scold me and all and the school will impose some punishment into me but… Meh! I care not."

"That's the rebel spirit, yeah." Urateido chuckled.

"Things will soon spice up as if you'd stuffed Tabasco on 'em!" Eisei teased.

"Sure thing, _Danna_… Let's have some fun!" Sieg chuckled.

The four of them chuckled under their breaths and formed smug smiles…


	16. Chapter 16: Intense afternoon

**Chapter 16: Intense afternoon**

17:27 PM (Japan Time), Wednesday June the 1st…

"… Man. Junior. You're narrow."

"Guess that, Enzan."

"Heh. You, on the other hand, Enzan… You're wide."

"Yeah. Yours is huge, really. Oh well. I did well on sending Blues to train with Alex and Tom."

"Sure. And in the adjacent room…. Another threesome. Niisan is studying in the empty room."

"Heh. I've been looking to having fun with you for a while."

"No wonder, Enzan."

Netto, Enzan and Legato were having sex in the left-wing bedroom: Netto was sitting on his fours, Enzan was sitting on his knees and pumping his cock into his ass while Legato did the same for Enzan: they'd all clipped clothes pegs to their nipples and they were chatting.

"But, really… Lucky us! Raging Flame happened to be tracing the guy and such he could help us out drive that wizard guy outta the school before the thing worsened." Netto sighed.

"That'd be our fault. We lowered the guard." Legato apologized.

"Oh well. No – one's perfect. Not even Mr. Perfect."

"Heh. Not bad." Enzan grinned.

"HEH! Helm of Elven History!" Netto improvised an acronym.

"Eisei's crazy acronyms stuck?" Enzan grinned.

"Sure. Bully me."

"Heh. You want it so badly…"

"We'll serve it on the baddies." Legato made up a joke.

Enzan pulled the string of the clothes pegs and Netto gasped as he closed his eyes and seemed to savor the feeling: Enzan then gripped his balls with the right hand thus hardening Netto's cock: he picked it and began to rub the thumb finger over the head: Netto giggled.

"It tickles!"

"Tickle Man dropped by."

"Speaking of "Men"… Leon finally submitted a design for his Navi: I'll let out that it'll be a Fire – Elemental guy."

"So the guy will compete with Burner Man?"

"Yeah. We already prepared a data platform on the sea 20 meters left of the left side of the hull… It's attached by a cable so there's no danger of it getting lost… The platform's 5 meters wide per 5 meters tall… There they'll be able to unleash their whole heat without any damage to _Purgatory_…" Legato chuckled.

"Heh. Then I'll go see it later. I wanna see what kind of Navi is it: I'm sure I won't be disappointed."

"An intriguing fellow conspirer, by Moran."

"MORAN! Meek Orange Rubbing Anchor of Nettie!" He came up with a new acronym.

"Of Nettie, eh? Junior?" Legato laughed at the joke.

"Sure. Huh! I feel it rushing out… Coming!"

Netto gasped and giggled as he released in two or three spurts thus staining his chest: his released tightened his ass and so Enzan released thus triggering Legato's release two.

"OK. Let's do front-back." Netto suggested.

"OK. I just had back so I'm going to the front."

"Fuck me, Legato."

"You want it so badly… Heh, heh, heh."

They changed positions: Enzan moved to in front of Netto and he calmly began to lick his cock's head before taking it into his mouth: Legato then stuffed his cock into Netto and pulled the string to stimulate him: they both began to move.

"So… What did Uncle try this time around?"

"Sent Drill Man to your father's company to try to steal his newest project… But they were clever enough to have a warp maze in place and by the time he reached the servers he was tired from having to make it through several concrete walls… They beat the guy with ease and he ran for his grease." Legato explained.

"For his grease, eh? Grease Man was waiting for him."

"Sure thing, Enzan."

"Heh. I'll increase the pace."

"Go ahead. I'll do the same, too."

Both began to increase their pacing and they released: Netto then sat on his knees and began a passionate kiss with Enzan who returned it: they broke apart while looking at their connecting white string: Netto then lay face-up on the bed and placed both hands behind his head.

"Man. Let's have a lil break. Then we can test out your rosy ass, Enzan, to see how big it really is."

"Heh. I don't back from challenges."

"Interesting!" Legato grinned.

"Let's rumble and shake and tremble." Enzan challenged.

"RST! Retrieving Solidifying Tower!"

"Speaking of towers… What became of "Seraph Tower"?"

"Oh, that? It got demolished and the shaft got re-sealed. The Seraph HQ is now empty of life and cordoned off."

"How the mighty have fallen, huh?"

"Yeah. The mighty always fall."

"Good. Enough preludes. Let's get to the action."

"OK!"

Netto and Legato lifted Enzan by the shoulders and then stuffed their cocks into his ass before lowering him and gluing to him: Netto began to rub his nipples against Enzan's ones while Legato began to lick the rear of his neck: Enzan slowly exhaled and chuckled.

"Man. It feels cool. Move them!"

"OK!"

"MOVE! Meteorite of Origin with Velocity of Escape!"

"Why not…"

Both began to move and Enzan merely rubbed his own cock to harden it up: he couldn't avoid letting out some moans as Netto kept on rubbing their nipples together (they'd taken out the clothes pegs to do that): Netto grinned and suddenly clipped the two pairs in Enzan's balls: he began to pull and Enzan groaned.

"Yeah…! Pull more…! Until they jump out…! I need some stimulation: some pain!"

"Heh. Guess you can be pretty masochistic when you're in the mood to, Enzan."

"Speak for yourself, Junior. Who was the one who had me ride a wooden horse with you on it 2 years ago?" Enzan grinned.

"Heh. I know. And when Oscar joined I let him fuck me in the horse too: it feels refreshing too."

"I'm surprised that you talk so lightly about the whole deal. Especially knowing what happened not too long ago."

"Man. If I let that scare or depress me then they'd win. So this is how I defeat them: not minding the deal."

"Heh. OK. Huh! I'm going off!"

"Pegs off!"

Netto pulled again and the clothes pegs jumped out: Enzan gasped and released so both guys also released: they took out their cocks and Enzan groaned as he got face-up in the bed.

"Huff, huff… Intense! Alright. Let's leave it at here."

"Sure, Admiral."

"What part is coming next?"

"Part 4! From page 25 to page 32. There'll be another part, Part 5, from page 33 to 41… And then Part 6, from page 42 to 46…" Netto explained with a grin.

"Now the main dish is… Getting outta the enemy country. Guess they'll need to invoke Warp Man." Legato joked.

"Warp Man, eh?"

"Sure thing."

"By the way, Enzan…"

"What?"

Netto suddenly loomed over him and then began to lick his left nipple while Legato joined him on licking the right one: Enzan laughed and his cock got hard again: both then rubbed their cocks against Enzan's one and laughed.

"We're unpredictable."

"And sneaky."

"Y-you two! Stop! It tickles!"

"Begging, eh, Enzan? Then we're not gonna stop!"

Both pulled the blankets over them and soon several moans began to rang out while they continued their games under them…

17:41 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Heh! Hikawa! Man! You've got a tight ass."

"D-don't tell me… O~h!"

"Do you like how Kuroshiro's giving ya a neat blowjob?"

"O~h… It's too much!"

"Then try this on."

"O~h! Don't rub it against my nipples, please! It's too much!"

"Heh! You need something to shatter the tension."

"W-won't deny that I was the one who wanted to but… O~h!"

In the right-wing room, Atarasei was sitting on top of the bed while he had Hikawa ride along his cock's height as he teased his nipples with a portable vibrator: Kuroshiro was gripping Hikawa's balls and sucking on his cock in the meanwhile.

"Let's have some company!"

He picked the PET (at his right) and inputted some commands before tossing it further north.

"… OK! Time for part 4! "Letting the sulfate be stolen in front of your noses! You ne'er-do-well! You idiot!"… "But, Herr Präsident, I didn't… I… There they go!" … "Let's chase! Don't let them run! Guards! Alarm!"… "We're being chased!"… "Ah! Jump outta the window, Boss! Quick!"… "Brr! You could've warned me that it was closed, no?"… "We gotta climb the walls!"… "Too high! We're trapped!"… "No! I brought a foldable stair, see!"… "Ah! A rope stair? Excellent!"… "Rope? No, no! I don't use such old stuff."… It's a foldable portable escalator!"

"FPE! First Person Experience!"

"Oh come on… O~h…!"

"Heh, heh, heh. Don't worry. Unlike that Urateido jerk I'll be soft with ya, Hikawa. It turns out his cousin is in the same year as Leon."

"Like cousin, like cousin, huh?"

"Yessir."

"… "Quick, Boss! Heh, heh! We're safe!"… "HALTEN! HANDS UP! I SAID HANDS UP!"… "Y-yes, sir, yes…"… "Heh, heh! Got the 2 of them myself: I'll be ascended!"… M had jumped to be held by F. F let go of him and he accidently made the sulfate pot's cork jump off and one drop hit a grasshopper on the guard's feet! "AH! AH! A~H! HELP! MOMMY! HELP ME~! T-the wall! I forgot I was atop the wall! Ow! What a blow: unless they bring a stretcher then I don't go anywhere. UA~H! The window: it's my only salvation!"… "Quick! They ran through the window! Let's jump!"… The soldier and Big Boss crash! … "The insect! The insect!"… "YOU CALLED ME INSECT? SIX MONTHS OF JAIL!"… "I retrieved the stair, Boss!"… "OK! Let's jump! We run for it and…!"… "Ah! Too late! The soldiers are coming!"… "And they're coming from here, too! We're doomed!"… "No, Boss, the sewers! Jump in! Hurry, hurry!"… "Well, hit your noses, man!"… "They're here! Let's go!" … Both groups crash and get stunned! "Phew! That was close, man!"… "Let's search another exit!"…"

"No more! I'm going off!"

"Go off!"

Hikawa groaned and released thus filling Kuroshiro's mouth and triggering Atarasei's release too: they changed positions and Atarasei loomed over the face-up Hikawa to stuff his cock into his mouth while Kuroshiro giggled and lowered into Hikawa's cock after placing a string of anal beads inside of him.

"Let's test out the width of your penis, Hikawa – kun!"

"You test his stuff: I'll see if he's good at teasing."

"… "There's an exit, Boss! Run!"… "Where are they? They must've jumped the wall!"… "I'm going to chase! I'm good at jumping!"… The manhole beneath Otto is lifted and he jumps thus crashing into his boss' head: they stun each other! "Devil! We got back in the palace yard!"… "There's car: let's run while they nap!"…"

"NAP! Nitroglycerin with Added Powder!"

"Heh! Not bad, Oscar – kun."

"… "Splendid! It's an armored SUV!"… "Let's get in: here we go!"… The SUV has two seats but no cockpit: it's open. It has 6 wheels. "The guard post! And the barrier's down!"… "Don't worry, Boss, I'll soon lift it up!"… "EH? HALT! STOP!"… The SUV drives through and the elastic barrier spins around the guard trapping him! "There's the exit! And another barrier!"… "Heh! Barriers? No big deal! We eat 'em!"… F ends up biting it by coincidence! "Well Boss… That of eating was a proverb!"… "Good: full speed towards the border!"… "They ran! They escaped in the SUV! In front of your noses! Quick, to the garage! We'll chase them in another car! HURRY IT! FULL SPEED AHEAD!"… "A-ahead, Herr Präsident?"… "YES! DIDN'T YOU LISTEN? FULL THROTTLE!"… "Well, well, if you say so…"… CRASH! "But, Herr Präsident, I… You said that… OW! OW!"…"

"Heh! The guy took the order literally and drove ahead… Into the garage wall!" Atarasei guessed.

"Oho."

"… "Quick! Let's pick this car: it's facing the door! Go! Full throttle!"… VROM! CLINC! CLANC! CLONG! It turns out it was on the middle of having a wheel replaced! "Where are you going, you fool? The exit's on the left: turn the whole wheel!"… "Y-yes, Herr Präsident…"… "Hey! You're forgetting something!"… "D-done, sir! Where do we go now?" It's turned on the right side and now it skids face-down across the ground! "It must be an earthquake, sir! I see the wall down-upside!"… "BRAKE! BRAKE!"… "It's braked alonge, sir…!"… CRASH! Big Boss is propelled over the wall and falls into the outside! "ATTENTION! HERR PRÄSIDENT! PRESENT ARMS! B-but what did I say? What did I say?"… I~H! "I found this Jeep, sir! If we hurry we might catch them!"… "Come on! Full throttle… Faster! FASTER!"… "Y-yes, s-sir… OW! OW!"… "Attention to all army: the Präsident speaks! The spies head to the border along Road 32! You must stop them NO MATTER WHAT!"… "Devil! I intercepted a message from the Big Boss… He's mobilized the army! We can't continue through the road: go through the fields!"… "Yes, Boss!"…"

"Hyrule Field?" Atarasei joked.

"Why not?"

"… "What are you…? Watch out!"… "Huh! I almost hit that rabbit!"… CRONC! "My pigs! You bruten! Grrr! I'm gonna…!"… "This thing ain't moving!"… "And that guy looks like he wants to hit us with the club: let's run!"…They run but F steps over a lever and the SUV fires a small missile at the man! "I blow 'em up! I BLOW 'EM UP!"… "They've come in through here: follow the tracks!"… I~H! "Excuse me, Mein Gärtner! Didn't you see 2 blokes? One tall and bald and another…?"… "I'M FED UP! FED UP, FED UP AND FED UP!"… He turns the Jeep which had run him over upside-down and hits the underside! "What are you doing? You'll regret this! I'm the Prä… Grrr!"… CLONC! "T-THIS IS A COUP D'ETAT!" … "On the contrary, sir… It's a coup de club! RUN!"… "Stop, Boss! The pig guy isn't chasing us anymore!"… "Lucky us! PHEW! Let's rest for a bit and we'll continue until the border on foot!"… "Yes, yes! Let's rest!"… "See, sir! There they are!"… "Chance! We'll sneak in, jump at them and get them!"…"

"Oho."

"Ta-dan! End of Part 4! That's it, folks, as Bug Bunny would say!"

"Bugs Bunny, eh? Does he come into your dreams, Hikawa?"

Hikawa blushed a lot and both chuckled or giggled.

"Man. There's nothing shameful on being a Bugs Bunny fan. Alex is a fan of Alexander The Lesser!"

"Will you please quit that nickname? It sounds like you're degrading him, Oscar – kun."

"Oh well. Then he's fan of the Ultimate Conspirer: Alex of Imil Village!"

"Well." He rolled his eyes.

"Heh, heh, heh. You prefer M&F to those?"

"I do. Sometimes I think you go too far with those jokes."

"Who knows, Mr. Sneaky Lover?"

"Oh come on. It's not like Netto – kun cares about this." Kuroshiro rolled his eyes and fumed.

"I know. Junior will be Junior. Senior would rather have a _chibi_." He chuckled.

"Please… Saito will pick Obihiro – kun? We'll see about that but I don't think it'll become anything special. Legato is Saito's lover."

"LOVER! Locking on the Original Vector of Erratic Rock!" He invented another silly acronym.

"By all the… Let's end this already."

"Sure."

Kuroshiro rubbed his own cock and soon released so his insides tightened and triggered Hikawa's release: Atarasei then released inside of Hikawa's mouth and they halted.

"Huff, huff… Give me a break, please…!" Hikawa panted.

"Break Girl will give you plenty of them."

"Oh please! Don't bring up that of last year." Hikawa protested.

"My bad. I didn't intend to."

"Be careful of your words before saying them! Or else you'll get into a pinch."

"Fine, fine. I don't want Alex to think Cousin Mary is plotting to bring him to her bed." He laughed.

"Please…" Hikawa grumbled.

"He won't learn. Maybe Daikani – sama needs to give you some lessons on not to joke about that?"

"Eh… No need to involve Daikani – sama, no!"

"Then behave!"

"Oh boy."

18:21 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Hah! Too easy! I've got ALL Viruses here!"

"EMERGENCY! EMERGENCY!"

"Yell all you want! Now these Viruses are OURS!"

"I'd rather object."

"What, a girl"?

"Yeah. You're not stealing those."

"Hah! The likes of you will stop me, Magic Man?"

"Of course. I've got some arsenal."

"Oi. Don't tell me you've got sneaky Chips like what happened to Drill Man!"

"Who knows, Mr. Saruman?"

"Che."

Magic Man had shown up inside of the Virus Breeder and was using a large energy sphere to trap all Viruses inside and keeping them hovering over his head when Roll showed up to face.

"Well! Air Shot!"

"Uack!"

"Counter Hit! So! Double Point! Burner Man! Attack Plus 30! 180 per 2 plus 90… 360 plus 90… 450!"

"No way!"

"MOERO~!"

Burner Man showed up on the field and firstly crossed his arms before spreading them in angles aiming at the ground: the burner muzzles behind his head turned on and so did his forearms' ones: two large rolling burners rolled across the ground and stopped at Magic Man's sides.

"What?"

They bathed him in flames and he crossed his arms to protect himself but then Burner Man smirked.

"BURNING… JET!"

He dashed forward and rammed into Magic Man thus bathing him in flames while at the same time Roll extended her antennae and they vibrated: the Viruses seemed to awake from their asleep status and they quickly broke out of the sphere: they formed rows.

"Alright. V1 is to the left, V2 is middle and V3 is right. Then the SP or Boss is in front of the V2." She muttered.

"T-this LIL GIRL!"

"Charmed." She shrugged her shoulders.

"Mwah, hah, hah, hah! Burner Man is hot! But I'm hotter!"

"Who…?"

"Napalm Man – sama's come!"

A new Navi rushed in from the right side of the hall.

This Navi, Napalm Man, looked like he was more "machine" than "humanoid" but he could be close to a meter and seventy tall nevertheless.

His main body was colored purple.

He had no nose and mouth but he did have green iris eyes set there: a muzzle-like object formed on the forehead: it had a round white base and the muzzle itself was colored orange.

Napalm Man's shoulders were shaped like arches and colored in a pale purple color: they had a thin square drawn towards the lower edge and an orange-colored stripe passing over the arch and heading towards the rear.

His arms' skin was colored black and his forearms were long cylinders which looked like guns.

The spot where the elbow and the gun fused had a square white plastic piece while the main body of the gun was tinted purple: the rear end was a greenish circle and the guns' muzzle had a circular orange base and a greenish extension.

There was a gap below the torso around the waist before the lower body began.

This gap had Napalm Man's emblem set into it which consisted on a white edge with a downwards-aiming triangle drawn inside of it: the upward edge was tinted in a purple color with the rest of the triangle was colored orange instead: a ring circled the triangle close to the spike of the triangle as well.

This lower body was colored purple as well: it included an orange-colored piece spanning from the lower edge and continuing beneath the piece: Napalm Man's legs spread from there.

His legs were plain black: their armor began close to the knees: it included a square-shaped white-colored piece of armor past the ankle: the front part of the feet had a pale purple color while the rear part was colored in a black color.

"Leonel sends me~!"

"Napalm Man, please… Hadn't we agreed not to use nicknames?" Leon sighed over the voice-only channel.

"Don't worry, Leon! I'll blow that guy sky-high! Can I, Miss?"

"Sure. Go ahead. That guy's your prey."

"Oh yeah! Burner Man was hot! But I'm hotter!"

"More interlopers…! Be deleted! Magic…!"

"Slow, gramps! Vulcan Arm!"

Two small guns with a half-dome base that allowed them to change their angle formed in the ground: they locked on Magic Man and shot some rounds which momentarily stunned him.

"Napalm Bomb!"

Napalm Man then shot a bomb from the muzzle on his forehead and it landed on Magic Man's feet: it broke and revealed an orange liquid which quickly ignited: Magic Man roared.

"This is real napalm, man!"

"T-this PLEBEIAN!"

"I dunno what that means and I don't need to! Eat these!"

He suddenly locked on him and shot rounds from his arms which exploded upon contact and opened wounds on Magic Man's body armor: he growled and aimed his arms.

"Magic Flash!"

He vanished with a flash and Napalm Man fumed while Roll merely lifted her eyebrows.

"What. The guy didn't even fight seriously."

"He doesn't have the patience to."

"Hey. Leon – kun." Meiru opened a line.

"Sakurai – san. Good afternoon. Are you preparing the exams?" He politely asked.

"Huff. Of course. They're in 2 weeks' time. I gotta start now. These are the most decisive ones in the whole of middle school!"

"OK! While ya guys worry 'bout those exams I'm gonna go scout the Reverse Internet! Tell Jinmei – amas I was here!"

"Who?"

"Oh come on. Don't make an anagram out of Meijin – san's name, Napalm Man. I know I wanted you to be dynamic and all but…"

"Don't worry! All's under control!"

"I'm skeptical myself."

"Heh, heh, heh. See ya!"

"Huff."

Napalm Man ran out while Meiru giggled: Roll sighed and didn't seem to find the scene funny and neither did Leon.

"Alright! Leon – kun! Next time I'll treat you to some books."

"… You needn't." He coolly replied.

He suddenly cut the line: Meiru sounded surprised and Roll sighed as if she'd already guessed what happened.

"I guess he got raped by a woman so he doesn't like people making fun of that, Meiru – chan. Like what happened to Obihiro – kun and Hikawa – kun last summer, too."

"Oh crap."

"I heard there was some trouble."

"Ah! Blues – kun. Well. Magic Man. But between me and Napalm Man we repelled the fellow."

Blues stepped in while having a Long Blade drawn followed by Alex who was looking around with curiosity.

"BURP! BRUTALE ULTIMATE RATTLE PACE!" A Program - kun came out of one Warp Point while spinning upon its axis clockwise and erratically: he did look dizzy.

"Gray's handiworks?" Alex wondered.

"Or Superintendent Oda too." Blues grimly muttered.

"Yo! Ladies & gentlemen! Did someone see my fellow conspirer inspired by Uncle Merton?"

"Oh come on." Roll fumed.

"Tee, heh, heh." Meiru giggled.

"Man."

18:33 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Found you."

"Huh? Hum. You're "Barbatos"…"

"Yeah… This time I'll win… You'll be defeated!"

"Hmpf. A novice at swords can't hope to rival my 10 years of experience with sword."

"WHAT?"

"You didn't even bother to do some background research. How lazy of you... Impatient. Foolish."

"Wha~t? If only you knew the extent of my power… I've gotten new power: I've travelled to lands beyond normal reach…! And there I got absolute power…!"

"Hmpf. Then prove it."

Burai had been standing amongst the ruins of Pharaoh Man's pyramid when "Barbatos" showed up behind him while brandishing his sword: Burai drew his and didn't bother to turn around to begin with: "Barbatos" began to boast and Burai turned around.

"Come! Power! Dark Sword!"

"What?"

"Barbatos" formed a purple-colored Long Sword and swung it to produce the same type of energy shockwave a Dream Sword Program Advance produced: it hit the Mu Rejection and it got bounced back at "Barbatos": he growled and then drew a purple-colored Cannon Battle Chip which shot a blast which seemed to be the same as in the Giga Cannon Program Advance: Burai merely moved to the right to dodge and regenerated his Mu Rejection: he suddenly warped and appeared in front of "Barbatos" to slash with his sword in two diagonal attacks: "Barbatos" stepped back and growled.

"Damn it. That should've let me defeat you already!"

"Hmmm… I guess you found a way into the "Dark Cyber World"… And you found those there… Guess you found a way to contain your hatred which woke up when you stepped there, huh?"

"Shaddup! What do you know?"

"I know it all. Who you really are under that armor and why do you use it to begin with. You're no better than Darth Krayt and his Yuuzhan Vong armor." Burai taunted.

"Wha~t?"

"Fight."

"Fine! Dark Lance! Dark Thunder! Die!"

"Hmpf… Novice…"

Burai easily dodged the 3 purple bamboo lances which showed up behind him and began to move as he tracked the purple sphere of electricity: "Barbatos" charged forward but Burai easily blocked his advance and then stepped back so that the "Dark Spark" would hit him instead: Burai struck thrice with his sword and "Barbatos" recovered.

"Muramasa Blade~!"

"Hmpf!"

Burai easily blocked the Muramasa Blade and then delivered three blows with his free fist at the chest: a red ring of energy formed and expanded across its width before it faded: "Barbatos" growled and Burai wasn't surprised to begin with.

"Stay quiet, you!"

"Hmpf…"

"Don't laugh, you!"

"Hmpf…"

"Barbatos" fumed and then charged again in a different angle: he did manage to hit the right hip but Burai merely punched him in a row again.

"Shit. This guy doesn't feel the pain?"

"No."

"Shit."

"Fight."

"Fine! More power! More! Dark Tornado~!"

He formed the "Tornado" weapon colored purple and shot it at Burai but most of the blows were bounced off or blocked by the "Mu Rejection" and only 1 or 2 actually hit him.

"Dark Circle!"

A "Mark Cursor" began to circle the area and when it floated over Burai it locked on him and shot a powerful blast which hit two or three panels before him: Burai let it hit him and then countered with the sword: "Barbatos" blocked but Burai started to push him away: "Barbatos" tried to force it but Burai was clearly stronger.

"So?"

"Dark Meteor!"

A rod with a purple jewel atop it formed and a rain of purplish meteors began to fall down but Burai brought out his "Mu Rejection" to deflect them or produce a Sonic Boom which hit "Barbatos": he rushed and tried to strike with the sword but it got bent.

"Useless. Mu Rejection can't be broken. Just temporarily overloaded."

"Fuck."

"You better don't look down on Mu Technology."

"Mu? Emptiness? Hah! You sure are empty."

"Fool… You don't bother to research and hence why you fail: if only you bothered to figure out how things worked like… Bah. Plebeian."

"You lowlife are the plebeian!"

"No. I'm a warrior, and warriors are a different rank altogether. But you're a wandered, a fool who won't realize that your creator didn't intend to kill you. It was the fools of that age who were afraid of your capability to evolve and wanted Net Navis to be mere avatars, puppets. Luckily for everyone, the progress faction won the battle."

"Shut up! All humans are unworthy creatures. I'll destroy them!" He growled.

"Oh yeah? Why didn't you do that when you went on a rampage in the real world years ago?"

"Don't speak like you know who I am!"

"It's "like I know", fool. Anyone with enough intelligence figured it out time ago. Maybe all that power and all has been consuming your brain and your intelligence? Or your "cool" persona as well?" Burai kept on taunting.

"THIS BASTARD!"

"Over-used. Empty. Vain. Meaningless. What matters isn't power: power without skill is like a wild animal. To master the power… It takes training, and discipline. Which you never had. Sure, you had to grow stronger to survive but… You had plenty of years to try to master your strength: hence why Serenade beat you so easily in your first match."

"S-Serenade is DEAD!"

"In body. But I suspect his spirit has been watching us for YEARS."

"D-don't say nonsense."

"Well. "Spirit" would actually mean his consciousness file lacking a body but being able to be executed by any system."

"Dark Invis! Dark Drill! Dark Plus!"

"Barbatos" was surrounded by purplish energy and became invisible but Burai didn't lose his cool: a Drill Arm Battle Chip colored purple came for him but when it hit him he vanished with a cloud of smoke.

"What!"

"Bodyguard!"

"Ugra~h! Not that again!"

The 10 _shuriken_ fell down and attached to the guy's back: he collapsed face-down and growled while some faint lines of crimson energy began to spread across the armor's back originating from the holes' edges.

"Dark Recovery~!"

The wounds healed and the energy vanished: "Barbatos" got on his feet and Burai dully spotted that parts of his armor were turning purple in color but he merely lifted an eyebrow.

"Dark Sound! Dark Wide!"

A Virus formed in the field and it began to produce a hyptonic-like sound as "Barbatos" shot at purple-colored Wide Shot at Burai: he merely bounced it back and "Barbatos" howled as his visible eye turned purple and he began to grumble and mumble.

"Program Advance…! Dark Line! Bug Chain! F! My own power combined with the power of bugs…! DARK MESSIAH!"

"Barbatos" formed the head of the "Gospel" Ultimate Bug Fusion Body and vomited purplish flames into Burai's field but he was unaffected: he then formed a bright pinkish spheroid of energy and shot forward while lifting it to drop it into the ground: Burai dodge and the blast opened a hole so "Barbatos" fell through the hole into the depths of the Reverse Internet where a purple-colored miniature Milky Way could be seen: there was a chuckle which sounded far and echoing followed by a monster's roar: the whole thing vanished with a bright purple flash and this time Burai did look concerned given his grimace.

"The hell? That wasn't there 5 minutes ago. What is it? Power escaped from the "Dark Cyber World"? It isn't Kuroban. He's not that reckless to toy with these things… The ghost server owner? Heck."

_That guy might be FAR more dangerous than we thought, even…!_


	17. Chapter 17: Obscure Sun

**Chapter 17: Obscure Sun**

08:19 AM (Philippines Time), Friday June the 3rd…

"… Kuroban."

"Ah. Slur. You have some news."

"Indeed. It would seem our target is far more dangerous than we thought."

"The ghost server owner? Why?"

"Burai submitted this imagery."

"Hum. Let's see."

"Once we finish this there is something I would like to show you. I found it by coincidence searching this city's servers…"

"Alright. But I'd rather you _brought it along_ from _elsewhere_."

"Hmpf. Alright. I forgot."

"How unlike you, eh?"

"Irony, is it? I do not mind."

Kuroban had been interacting with holographic screens inside of the alien city when Slur approached him from behind: he turned around and smirked when correcting Slur who made a smile and shrugged her shoulders as if knowing he was right.

"This is it."

She brought up imagery of what happened the other day when Burai had fought "Barbatos": Kuroban rubbed his chin and looked concerned at the footage.

"Do you have any hunches of what that is?" Kuroban asked.

"I do."

"Tell me."

"Fine. Well then. You and I… We have come from other "Time-Spaces" or "worlds"… Different for each one… Yet you have heard of and I have met a terrific man… Twilight… Twilight… That man… He did get to create this by fusing his Net Navi body with a gigantic program… And used its power to try to digitize Earth… After it was stopped and destroyed, some of it remained… An "Obscure Galaxy", it could be named… And there is where _Umbra_ was born… By taking some infected data off Rock Man, Twilight granted it a body and mind… Filled with unending "Dark Power" born from this "Obscure Galaxy"… And that roar is too familiar, too."

"Hum. I see. So. What's the roar's identity?"

"The Demon God."

"Demon God? Now that rings a bell."

"Nebula Grey."

"What? But… It was destroyed years before I came to this "world"." He seemed to frown under the shades.

"I know. But it could have been its material form. Its true form is just a "grudge flame"… And it could have slipped away, bid its time and now has decided to act…"

"I see."

"And that must mean that… By the next time we meet "Barbatos"… His power will have risen. Yet! That is not true power. It is but an illusion created by the "Evil Heart"… An illusion… They can be fought back and countered… They will be tainted by that illusion and keep on attacking sans any strategy…" She dully described.

"Hum. Alright. So. What else did you want to show me?"

"Well. I did keep a copy of Umbra's memories before he took them out and inserted new ones. He's decided to totally cut with the past and he's created memories to fit with his new back-story… In them there is an image of "Duo"…"

"You never got to see any?"

"Well. Truth to be told… I am a copy. Slur Mark One was defeated by "Barbatos" in that other "world"… Yet she had lived for millions of years travelling along with "Duo"… The "Cybernetic God"… I myself am a very well done copy… Made by Twilight…"

"What!"

"I do have some memories which are about my "Creators": mostly those images you have seen… But I have gathered information and Twilight did get to keep one of "Duo's Crests" which he stole from 13 chosen ones: hence why I was able to replicate it and give it to you some months ago so that you could open this citadel. And there is another very similar in architecture hidden in mountains far north of Thailand's northern borders… Undisturbed for millennia… I found schematics and half-completed versions of devices… One looked very similar to the "Ultimate Orb" as well…" She kept on.

"So it's true: the "foreigners" my kingdom received about 5,000 years ago where the "Creators", Slur."

"Indeed. Do witness."

Slur formed a holographic screen displaying FPV (First Person View) of something which made Kuroban gasp.

"By the High One!"

The image displayed a gigantic Navi: it was easily close to ten meters tall: his main body was a white spheroid having an octagon-shaped blue metallic edge set close to the lower edge of his body: several golden-colored rods aimed inwards until they ended at the bottom of the cavity which had a navy blue circle inside of it: a golden pattern reminiscent of the Alphabet letter "Y" formed on both sides of the cavity and circled the body.

Three "levels" of circles which became smaller as they climbed formed the neck: the middle section had blue-colored trapeze-shaped formations scaled on it.

The head was cylindrical in form.

The eyes were hexagonal in shape, being set inside of black cavities and didn't have irises: these eyes were colored white thus not discerning any emotion.

A nose was built below them while his mouth was a mere thin line incapable of moving.

Blue armor was built on the inner edge of the head starting around the eyes' cavities: a red diamond had been placed over his forehead surrounded by grayish edges which were part of a circular band spanning the whole diameter of the large head.

Two "horns" sprouted from the sides of the head while aiming upwards: the inner edge was tinted using a blackish metallic color while the outer edge was white.

His shoulders were gigantic spheroids with two blackish metallic thorns coming out of the right one and aiming south and north: armor had been added there and it circled half of the shoulder.

The left one, by comparison, had a red dome-shaped object set on it surrounded by that same armor.

His arms didn't have elbows on them and ended on gigantic hands having blue armor over them: the wrist was decorated with golden stripes aiming northwards: the section before the fingers had a three-point goldenrod star symbol set on them: the fingers were colored white.

Below his torso he had a large cylinder: he also included a waist, legs, and gigantic blue armor over his feet.

"That's "Duo"… No wonder they named it "Cybernetic God"… It's a giant, damn it." He gasped.

"Indeed. And its abilities are such that it doesn't even need to move or announce them to execute them. Abilities amplified by the devices set on within his "comet"…"

"Heck. Then we can be glad he shot past Earth almost 2,400 years ago, around 600 BCE. Around the era of the Roman Kingdom…"

"Indeed. And by that time Mu had been sealed by the winners of its civil war and the On'Setsu Kingdom had been ravaged by the Mu Empire Sages by sending their Denpa Bodies and Erand Soldiers to wreck havoc there where their armies hadn't dared to lest they invoke the Gods' anger."

"I know that. I died on that ancient war, when the capital invasion army turned back. One of those eternally repulsive Erand Soldiers attacked me from behind. War by proxy… War staged by cowards… The true spirit of battle has been lost ever since then." He grumbled.

"It was not my intention to bring that up yet… Do excuse me? You died in the ancient war, you say? I do not follow."

"Ah. Of course. Gray is the only one who knows, after all. And some folk I left behind in my "world"… See, the "Ultimate Orb"… It can store a person's consciousness while synchronizing with the body… I was killed 4,000 years ago but my consciousness survived inside of it. Then someone touched it: I used them as host before I got my hands on genetic engineering technology and created my current body."

"Oh! I do see."

"I suppose you'll keep it secret?"

"Of course. Nobody questions me."

"Good."

"I shall be returning. One warning, though… Burai seems eager to prove his skills to you. I would rather sharpen the blade if you want to stand up to his skills…" She warned him.

"Alright. Got the message. I'll tell the others to be careful if they find the guy: last thing I want is for them to get stained."

"Wise thinking. We shall mass-produce "Vaccine Chips" too."

Slur nodded and floated away towards the south while Kuroban sighed and stretched: he seemed to feel a shiver go down his spin.

"Bloody hell. We must make sure that giant never drops by here again!"

10:23 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Alright! Axel! Let's tune into the tune~! Shall we~?"

"Jeez. My name's Alex, not Axel."

"Acceleration!"

"Oh please."

"Heh, heh, heh!"

"Napalm Man. Dude. This ain't funny. Go find Raging Flame and show him which of you two his hottest."

"That a challenge, fella?"

"Sure is."

"Then I'm gonna go for it! I'll bring back accelerometers! Nyah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah!"

"I can't believe Leon – kun wanted him to be so hyperactive."

"Guess that hyperactive mood is supposed to cheer him up."

"Guess so."

Alex had been punching a punching sandbag hanging from the ceiling in a gym room aboard _Purgatory_ when Atarasei showed up and began to pull jokes: he'd taken out the sunglasses so it could be seen that he had brown eye irises: Napalm Man had been training by shooting targets and calibrating his weapons using blanks: he joined the joke until Alex challenged him and he ran off.

"Bingo and ONBIN! Official Net Battlers Inspection Node!"

"How brilliant." Alex drily replied.

"How obscure." He laughed.

"Yeah, yeah. Got anything better to do?"

"Hop!"

He picked a _shinai_ and a Navi dressed in _kendo_ armor showed up in front of Atarasei: some data materialized to give way to one for him (he'd taken off his coat) and both got into position while his PET (which he'd left atop a stool) beeped.

"Welcome to the Atomic Sulfate! Summary: Big Boss and Herr Otto are about to sneak into our heroes! Action!"

"Let's see what happens."

"… "Let's go! And let's be quiet, eh? Very quiet!"… "Yes, sir… OUA~H!" … "The Big Boss and his shadow, Boss! Let's run!"… "B-but, sir! OW! I stepped into a nail and…!"… "THEY'RE RUNNING! RUN!"… "Y-yes, sir… Ow… My head, my foot…!"… "Hurry up, Boss, they're coming!"… "I c-cant run anymore… Can't…"… "MINE! HAH, HAH! MINE~!"… "T-they got us, man… hah, hah… They got us…"… "The sulfate!"… He hits another grass-hopper! "A~H!"… "Run, Boss! Let's use this chance: they'll be practicing some equitation!"… "S-sir! They're running! Jump down and let's chase them!"… "EH! UA~H! HELP ME~!"… ""Why! A "grass-hopperus ortoperus"… I'll check it out with the magnifying glass. It looks huge: HUGE! … ARRRRGLGLGL! "I saw the guy when coming with the cart: must've been like that for lotta days!" … "Hum! "Calambrus Cerebelicus"! Grave, grave!"… "STOP, YOU BUG! I WANT TO GET DOWN!"… He hits a tree's branch and is stunned! M&F jump over a small barbed wire fence with F getting a piece of his trousers stuck there!"

"Man." Alex rolled his eyes.

"Heh, heh, heh!"

"… "Halt, Boss! Look!"… The army tanks have gathered: but what chaos, my audience! One went on reverse and partly climbed a tree while half-crushing it thus making the officer fall out 'cause the hatch was opened, see. "I said forward! FO-R-WA-RD!"… Another's cleansing the cannon's body with a towel… Two have crashed front to front! "You bruten!"… "You idioten driver!"… Another's trying to turn it on using the old-times' spin handle! "That tank! Does it turn on or what?"… Another's turned upside down and they're using a saw to open a hole in the underside to exit!"

"By all the…"

"Oho. How original!"

"… "When we get outta here I'm going to teach you what "U – turn to the right" means, driver!"… A burnt out soldier comes in. "Mein Kommandant, regarding the howitzer box you told me to bring…"… Two soldiers look on as a CO goes over maps and yells orders through a phone yet the string has been cut! "You, Captain, with your Armored Division, will block Route 2 while Colonel Metrallausen spreads his troops in a fan formation, Lieutenant Bazooken starts the surrounding maneuver and…!"… "He's been giving out orders for 3 hours… Nobody dares to tell him the string got cut!"… But he suddenly brings on the binoculars and spots them! "Devil! It's them! Attention! Tank Number 7! FIRE~!" BANG! BOUMMM! He hit the tanks in front of him! …"

"Jeez. They could bother to look ahead of them, really."

"… "GRRBBLLFF… Fire! 4, 5, 6!"… "Run, Boss, they're shooting at us!" … "Brutes!"… "They're escaping! All division: give chase! FORWARD!"… They go on forward but they don't see a banner labeled "ACTHUNG, CLIFFEN!"… And thus they fall down the cliff, bouncing off the wall terraces or directly crashing! "W-what the…? I hear shooing! I must place Herr Präsident under custody! Sir! Where are you~?"… He steps into some bushes and he suddenly lifts because he's stepped into Big Boss' head, see~! "HERE!"… "Don't you hear? Shooting! What could it be?"… "HOWLITZERS! It's our tanks! There they come! I'm going to direct the capture myself! STOP!"… He gets run over and merged with the ground! "Come on, sir, get out ASAP! The column's remaining tanks are coming, sir!"… "GRRR! Brutes! They're gonna regret this! I'll send you to be jailed, to be executed, TO BE EXILED! OPEN! OPEN OR I HIT YOUR HEAD!" … "Somebody's calling?" … The CO opens and hits the Big Boss with the hatch! "HE… HERR PRÄSIDENT!"… "Who's in charge of the column?"… "Ich… Me, Sir… Why?"… "NOW I'M IN CHARGE!"… "Ja… Yes, Sir!"… "FORWARD! SMASH ALL OBSTACLES! PULVERIZE THAT TREE~!"… "Off we go, Boss! We got found out!"…"

"Man. Now they have to run from a whole tank column!"

"How thrilling, by Moran!"

"Yeah, yeah. I know that tune of yours. It's as old as _Let It Be."_

"Heh, heh, heh!"

"… "DEVIL AND THUNDERSEN! IT'S THEM! DIE SPIONEN! HALT!"… His tank halts but the others crash one after the other in a row! "Idioten!"… "What's the brake for? Decoration?"… "Alright! Where's a traffic policeman?" … "You don't know to drive, stay home!" … "Don't yell so much, it's covered by the insurance!"… "NO WAYEN! NO WAYEN! ENOUGH! Gunners, hear me! Turn cannons 90 degrees left!"… PTAF! He gets knocked off the tank! "Well, Sir, what do we do now...? Sir? Where are you, Sir?"… "HERE! GRRR! WE'LL TALK LATER! GRRBLM! COLUMN! OPEN FIRE! FIRE~!"… BRRRAOUMMM! "Heh, heh, heh! More, MORE~!"… "Well! You won't let me nap or what?"… "Do you hear those whistling sounds?"… "Yes, Boss… Either Sofía Loren is nearby or it's the howitzers! Devil, a river!"… "No bridge! How do we cross?"… A howitzer falls behind them and the explosion sends them flying across it!"

"How lucky for them."

"Heh, heh, heh."

"… "Thank you, guys! Brr!"… "THEY'RE RUNNIN! ALL COLUMN: GIVE CHASE!"… They cross the river like that! Ta-dan! End of part 5! Next day: part 6! The end's coming to snipe us!"

"Hah! Good joke."

"Jeez. Another cliff-hanger… They're good at it, man."

"Yeah. This album has a good format, yeah. Format Man dropped by to help them out, I'd rather venture to say."

"How original."

"How recycling."

"Jeez. Go codfish."

"Go sardine."

"Jeez. Why do we need to deny each other the whole time?"

"Well! 'Cause the plausible denial is on the works and the rocks."

"How funny." He rolled his eyes.

"Well. Maybe Circus Man will tell you why he's so happy when he's clapping? Happy~ Clap!"

"Didn't that guy show up on that land where the Cybeasts had originally been sealed at? Colonel brought them along and set up some weird cat and mouse competition over something." Alex frowned.

"Yeah. And his hot lil sis ended up fused with him to give Rock Man power… Afterwards… I heard that they returned her to her split form and she's keeping an eye out into those lands. The fused Cybeasts were destroyed, yeah, but… You never know. Some sequel may be left there or "Barbatos" could try to go there one day too."

"Hum. Alright."

"You'd want her to train ya?"

"Oh please. I'm sure she couldn't even hurt a fly."

"You never know!"

"I know. Now: don't you have your _kendo_ opponent to worry about or are you losing in purpose?" Alex grumbled.

"You never know, Mr. Acceleration."

As a response, Alex took out the boxing gloves and walked off towards the changing rooms: Atarasei chuckled under his breath and looked rather amused.

"Heh. Guess I busted his patience again. Oh well. Not like we'll fight over that, anyway. Let's finish it up with our fun and let's tune in for the newest news of news. News Man must be busy. And so must News Girl. Heh, heh, heh, heh. Yo and behold! Mad Attacking Boiling Rolling Swords! MABRS!"

_Let's go all out on Mr. Smiles and Mr. Non Smiles. I'm a genius, yessir._

12:52 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Man. Today the air feels dreadful and there are these clouds which look like they'll bring a storm over… And I can't shake off the feeling that something dreadful is about to happen…"

"And that will be… Chaos!"

"Who goes there, huh?"

"Me… Barbatos!"

"You again. Didn't you have enough with the other day's kickass?"

"Hmpf… That was nothing… I've now gained further power!"

"Huh? You reek… Of "Dark Power"…!"

"Hmpf… I heard that you lowlife tried to use it but you ran berserk: but I've got no worries myself… The Obscure Destruction God… I've absorbed it and I'm invincible!"

"Fuck."

Gray Thunderbolt had been pacing across an expanse of floating terrain in the Reverse Internet when "Barbatos" faced him: he looked confident and his armor was totally purple by now and his sword was pitch-black as well: a reddish glow surrounded his form.

"Hra~h! Chaos Sword!"

He aimed his sword upwards and purplish clouds suddenly formed in the skies: a wind began to blow and some hollow moans and whispers began to ring out: black spheroids about half a meter wide and tall formed around them and connected with each other using red energy chains: they landed in the ground and then formed a round red energy 5 meters tall, 2 long and 1 wide.

"Heck."

"There's no ESCAPE!"

"Who said I was gonna escape?"

"Hmpf. Chaos Thunder!"

A purple thunderbolt fell down from the skies but Gray Thunderbolt merely lifted his right arm: it began to spiral around the golden armor and it got absorbed into it: Gray Thunderbolt formed a Custom Bolt and shot the bolt at "Barbatos": he howled and stepped back: Gray Thunderbolt then rammed into him and he hit the barrier, getting further electrocuted: two reddish eyes suddenly formed in the middle of the chest followed by a howl: "Barbatos" growled and the "eyes" vanished.

"Che! The meddler!"

"Hmpf! Krayt: go convince Bane to tell you how to avoid being consumed by the armor!"

"The jerk…! Chaos Spark!"

"Futile, futile!"

He formed a purple-colored Thunder Ball next but Gray Thunderbolt caught it and then formed a Mini Bomb's shell around it before throwing it back at the guy: he got paralyzed and Gray Thunderbolt used the chance to load energy on his hands.

"Heavenly Thunderbolt!"

The gray bolts fell down and hit "Barbatos" several times: he suddenly formed a purple-colored Dream Sword and hit the floor with it but Gray Thunderbolt dodged by jumping to the side and then formed two copies of his forearms: they warped and hit "Barbatos" from behind after accelerating with the help of small rockets.

"Grah! I'm invincible!"

"In your dreams, Mr. Anderson, in your dreams."

"I have become one with the "Obscure Galaxy"…! I'm invincible!"

"Oh yeah? That's gotta be something which was roaming around the "Dark Cyber World", the land of the "Darkloids"…"

"And what if! Power! I've got unending power!"

"I'm skeptical of that, really. Guess that Nebula Grey thing deluded you as the Primordial deluded Mendicant Bias."

"I don't need to know what you're babbling about! You'll be destroyed: I'll lay wreck to this Cyber World! And then Dark Cyber World will consume it all and I'll become King of Chaos! The humans come next! First I'll slice your neck, BRAT!"

"Heh. You're the brat – like fella to begin with."

"Chaos Tackle!"

"Slow. Cheap. Predictable."

Gray Thunderbolt jumped higher in the air as the guy tackled on forward using the right shoulder: he hit the barrier and then stepped over a concealed Stealth Mine which inflicted damage: he growled as the howl rang out again and some reddish energy began to form the shape of something over his chest.

"Ah no! You stay quiet!"

Purple energy flowed in and the shape vanished but Gray Thunderbolt had drawn two Elec Swords and he attacked without warning: "Barbatos" growled again and countered with his sword yet Gray Thunderbolt stopped it with the left hand.

"Shirahadori."

"Fuck."

"Counter!"

"Uack!"

He formed some energy slices which he shot in a row at "Barbatos" and he hit the wall again: he groaned and managed to stand up just as a bluish flame with four spooks forming atop it and having a white core formed in front of "Barbatos" and then gave way to Quick Man EXE: an echoing cold chuckle rang out.

"Foolish mortal…"

"So you came out, huh, Big Boss?"

"Hmpf! My power has resonated with brethren scattered across "Time-Space"… I am stronger than years ago!"

"What in the…"

"Amusing! There is a man who has created and absorbed the power of one of my brethrens twice… And there is another foolish man like this one here who got to absorb another brethren but it did not make much of a difference…" Quick Man chuckled.

"Heck."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh… Go, "Barbatos"! You lowlife are the strongest! Prove it to those fools!"

"Hmpf! I knew that! Chaos Wind!"

The wind intensified and formed some orange-colored slices of energy shaped like moons: Gray Thunderbolt grumbled and brought up his forearms to cross them and to protect his body: he then charged up energy on his forearms' length and aimed them forward as he built up a disc of electricity with an electrical spiky edge.

"GRAY THUNDER!"

"What! Chaos…!"

"Slow!"

"MUGRURARA~H! The cell! The cell! The cell…!"

"HUH?"

Gray Thunderbolt shot powerful stream of electricity shaped like a cylinder and it hit "Barbatos" fully: he growled and suddenly began to utter words while sounding afraid, for once: "Quick Man" grumbled and looked displeased with the outcome.

"Draw power from that pain! And become the ultimate!"

"Yeah…! I've overcome those fools… They're all dead… I'm the ultimate!"

He suddenly began to divert all electricity across his body into the sword and shot it back at Gray Thunderbolt but he merely extended his right hand forward and formed a red circle with eight black rectangular extensions: the blast hit it and broke down into 8 pieces which bounced back towards the air above "Barbatos" and hit the barrier: the whole of it got electrocuted and the spheroids which made up the energy sources blew up one after the other: the barrier fell down and Gray Thunderbolt sighed in relief as he jumped some meters away from "Barbatos" who was clutching his forehead with the left hand and panting.

"The sword… Leaves a wound on my chest… It burns, it aches…! And despite that…! They claim… that they'll hunt me forever…! THE DAMNED FOOLS! HUMANS' PROXIES!" He roared.

"Good, good! Feed on the hatred, "Barbatos"!"

"DIE~!"

"I'd rather refuse. Elec Pulse!"

Gray Thunderbolt drew the weapon and hit "Barbatos" again: he then hit "Quick Man" and the body exploded to reveal the core flame which began to orbit around "Barbatos" while shooting out some purplish/grayish flames that scattered around Gray Thunderbolt.

"Be consumed by my "Grudge Flames"! Let us go! To the "Obscure Sun", the core of the "Obscure Galaxy"!"

There was a white flash and both vanished: the clouds began to vanish and Gray Thunderbolt sighed.

"Slur was right, heck. It's but an illusion. A lie. You don't gain power just like that: your mind gets obscured by it and you don't think properly: that guy barely knew what the heck he was doing, man." He muttered aloud while looking worried.

"I know. Come back to the base, Gray." Kuroban calmly replied.

"Roger. Coming back ASAP…"

_Guess we'll have to act or else… The Cyber World could be doomed!_


	18. Chapter 18: Battling & Questioning

**Chapter 18: Battling & Questioning**

10:01 AM (Japan Time), Sunday May the 5th…

"… Rook!"

"Sonic Boom!"

"No use!"

"Hum. This could turn troublesome. The coffee will get cold."

"Go, Knight!"

"Hum. Guess I need to cool down and plan the next move."

"Heh! Aragoma – sama won't lose so easily to a punk!"

"Tell that to Punk."

"Wha~t?"

Legato was having a match-off against King Man and his Sonic Boom had been blocked by the Rook: he calmly began to dodge the "Knight" as he was seemingly thinking of a new strategy: he pulled a joke on Aragoma which annoyed the guy.

"I want more screen-time~! Who was the one who beat that Flame Man jerk years ago, HUH?" He growled.

"Nobody denies that. But, by now… Other strong ones have shown up: your age passed. Go build your own MMORPG and crown yourself king of it, will you?" He chuckled.

"Che!"

"Huff." King Man sighed.

"Huh? What was that?"

"N-nothing, Aragoma – sama."

"Bust 'em all!"

"Strategy Change!"

"Heh. Too bad. Preparations: completed! Air Shot!"

"Uack! It got through my guard!"

"Heh, heh, heh! Full Synchro! Double Point! Air Hockey, Triple Slot In! Hell Hockey! Attack Plus 30! GO~!"

Legato unleashed the Hell Hockey taking profit of his opponent's momentary stunning: it hit him several times in a row and he roared as he was Plugged Out: Aragoma sounded like his jaw had hit the floor and a buzzer rang out.

"I win."

"No fair! I'm INVINCIBLE!" He groaned.

"Oh yeah? Did you bust the Cybeasts?" He reminded him.

"Che! Double – edged tongue!"

"Charmed, my dear."

"Wha? What's with ya? Wait a min! Ya look a lot like Blues!"

"It took you THIS long to realize?" Legato sighed.

"Man! I wasn't focused on who it was!"

"Then that might be why you didn't properly Operate His Majesty."

"Ijuuin! The jerk! He's trying to bust my glory~!"

"Enzan? Oh no. Enzan surely has forgotten you by now. You haven't seen each other since last year's February, anyway."

"I'm so gonna bust one of those Shu – something punks!"

"Shunoros? Be our guest. But I'd rather be skeptical. Now if you'll excuse me I've got a job to do." Legato chuckled.

"O-oi! Wait! Che!"

"I knew it." King Man grimly muttered.

"T-these PUNKS!"

11:51 AM (Japan Time)…

"… But, really, Saito – kun…! I wouldn't have thought you were this sneaky…! O~h…"

"Heh. It feels good, eh, Obihiro – kun? Here: let me lick your right ear's edge…"

"It tickles!"

"Tickle Guy."

"How funny."

"Heh, heh, heh."

Saito was having sex with Obihiro in one bedroom: both had those leather bands around their body and a black wool blindfold on: they'd put on those bracelets and locked them to then keep their arms behind their bodies: Obihiro was riding on Saito's cock while he licked his right ear's edge: Obihiro giggled.

"Let's sulfate the atomic."

"Oh please."

"It's about to start! I set my PET to play it up when it begins."

"Oh boy." He sighed.

"Heh, heh, heh. Feeling the dread?" Saito giggled.

"More like the despair." He admitted.

"Hey. At least they're not as maddening as Eisei's acronyms."

"You needn't tell me. They're the craziest thing EVER." He sounded rather resigned.

"EVER! Eternal Verified Exit of Rock!"

"Exit of Rock? What does that mean to begin with?"

"That rock 'n roll will have to exit and pop will enter the stage."

"How clever." He drily muttered.

"… Well, well, well! Let Uncle Moran bite my tape! We're finally at the last part of the Atomic Sulfate! Let's roll! Video!"

"_Marchando_! Burner!"

"Shah, shah, shah! Needle!"

"V-B-N in… The Atomic Sulfate! Last Part! Sound! Mike! And… Action!"

"_Marchando_! "T-they're catching up! We're doomed!" … "No, Boss, look! Here's a red ant anthill! A doll of sulfate and… OK, dears, there you have tank breads! Go for them!" … "Got them! Heh, heh! We'll crash upon them soon! MOMMY! HELP! UA~H! G-gunners! Shoot at those BUGS!"… "Help me~!"… "Sie anten!"… "Bigen as trolleybusen!" … "Helpen!"… "Mommy!"… "The border, Boss! Another step and we're free!"… "HALT! HAH, HA! Consider yourself prisoners in the name of Otto Rino, Chief of Tirania's Secreten Polizei!"… M sprays something: a horned beetle! And so the beetle runs off while thrusting the guy's back! "OW! MOMMY! HELP! OW! OWOWOW! OW! UWA~H!"…"

"Man. Giant red ants tackling the tanks and the gunners who run for it: they sure failed the guts exam."

"Guts Man stole them!" Saito laughed.

"How brilliant." He drily replied.

"… "Mein Kommandant, sir! The new Kommandatur building is completed, sir."… "At least! I was fed up with working atop this egg box! Go to Hellen!"… BRRROM! CRRRAC! CLOC! "Free, Boss! We're FREE~!"… A giant scorpion broke the building from the inside! "That egg box! Did you find it yet?"… "W-we're looking for it, Mein Kommandant!"… "Herr Präsident! Sir! The spies reached the border, met the border guard, and were caught!"… "At last! HAH, HAH! At last! Bring them here!"… "No, I mean… The border guards have been caught by a scorpion as big as a skyscraper, see? The spies ran off the country and they gotta be around Pernambuco by now! Sir, you lately are getting TOO MOODY, sir!"… Big Boss punches his eyes and drops a log atop his back!"

"What next?" Obihiro wondered.

"Mr. Smiles will visit Mr. Grin."

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, sure."

"… Big Boss looks on as how the red ants drag the tanks into their anthills from a hill! "MY TANKS! MY TANKS! MY TANKSSS! MY TANKS! MY TANKS! MY…"… One runs over him and makes him burrow in the ground! "My… My… Mi… Mi… Sol… La… Re… Do~…" … "They still didn't replace the stolen elevator! OW! Hey! Mr. Super! You could've bothered to place another lift, couldn't you?"… "We did place it! But this morning, upon entering, I found out that they stole it again! Well, you 2! Check out the newspapers, check it out… You did a splendid job!"… "Please don't praise us!"… "Don't, don't! Heh, heh!"… "Tirania Army destroyed by an army of ants as big as cachalot whales! The soldiers have no job anymore and must work as shepherds."… "President Bruteztrausen resigns from office. He's been diagnosed with a rare phobia, the "Ant-Phobia", so he'll be interned into a sanatorium."… "The use of weapons is abolished in the whole nation. The cannon fabrics whose construction was recently visited by the President will now package national peanuts to be exported." … "The new President addresses the nation. By popular voting, citizen Rompetechen has been elected as new President of Tiranaia. It's said he's got great sight for state matters."…"

"Shah, shah, shah! Note: Rompetechos is another Ibañez character: short in height, rather baldie and horribly short-sighted! He's a walking catastrophe: expect him to bring trouble wherever he goes to!"

"That's why they go with the "great sight" joke? Huh?" Obihiro seemed to roll his eyes.

"Guess that, Genesect – sama~!"

"Oh please. I'm sure they were saving him up for next year's movie, the 16th one… Surely the reveal will come this summer: it'd make sense to start teasing the movie."

"But the guy's cool! Being able to switch types… It'll be cool!"

"I know. Huff."

"… "Well! Only thing left is to destroy this sulfate. Alright: tell Dr. Bacterio, the biologist, to report to me ASAP!"… "Dr. Bacterio has arrived, Mr. Super."… "Show him in!"… "G-good morning, gentlemen."… "Dr. Bacterio! B-but what happened?"… "Ah! Don't mention it, don't! It turns out I was experimenting with an invention to grow, I tested it out myself and…" … "HAH, HAH, HAH! HO, HO, HO! HYA~H!"…"

"And I guess it had the contrary effect: he shrunk."

"Bacterio became less than a meter tall! … "Well, well! Here's your famed sulfate. Go, destroy it!"… "Yes, yes… Brrr!"… "Pfff!"… M was measuring him with a ruler! … "You only need empty it on a recipient with alcohol to dissolve it and…" … He begins to empty it into a pot with alcohol but a mosquito happens to try to fly through the doll! It becomes gigantic and gets out into the city attacking Mr. Super's rear! "OW! AW! UWA~H!"… "Make way, Boss, make way!"… "Calm down, calm down! I'll bust this guy myself!"… "You bullies, meddling with the short guys! BUA~H!"… END! THE END! How was it? Feedback in the blog, as always! V!"

"B!"

"N!"

"V-B-N! The sulfate will atomize YA!"

"Man. So in the end it turned against them, huh? Talk about an ironic ending." Obihiro sighed.

"Sure. Now let's see… Are you thinking of Hikawa – kun?" Saito whispered to him.

"Eh? Me? Why?" He blushed.

"Dunno. Thought you'd ask him out for a date." He giggled.

"Oh please! Saito – kun. That ain't funny."

"I can feel the blushing: I've got Esper powers!"

"Oh please." He groaned.

"Maybe you need a faster pacing? Ready or not… Here I go!"

Saito began to move faster and Obihiro groaned: Saito began to lick the right side of his neck and then moved to the base of neck: Obihiro blushed as he felt how his cock was getting hard.

"Yeah… I can see it… You're having a kiss with Hikawa – kun…"

"N-no way…!"

His cock got totally hard and his blushing got redder: Saito giggled and began to pump up with his hips: Obihiro groaned while Saito teased his left ear.

"And then he begs of you to stuff your penis into his cute rosy ass…"

"N-no way…!"

"And then you say "I love you!" and begin making love to him…"

"P-please! Quit it!"

"And he replies "I want to be with you forever!"… As he rubs his own penis…"

"T-that can't be! Uwah!"

"Gotcha!"

Saito giggled as Obihiro gasped and he released in two or three spurts which stained his chest: his ass then gripped Saito's cock and he released inside of him next: both panted while Saito giggled and Obihiro let out a weak moan: Saito suddenly lay face-up on the bed and had then roll over so he was atop Obihiro.

"Now comes the doggy-style~… Obi – chan."

"You tricked me, Saito – kun!" He moaned.

"Who knows? Guess Trick Man influences me a LOT."

He managed to catch the sheets with the fingers and pulled them so that they covered both of them: giggles and moans rang out.

"Let's have some more fun!"

13:13 PM (Philippines Time)…

"… Hmpf… So you showed up, Burai… Like Slur said…"

"Yeah… And this time it won't end in a match."

"Who knows? Maybe Fate is the one who has us end up in a match."

"There's no such thing. Stop quoting fantasy. Fight me."

"Sure… After you bring out War Man."

"What?"

"I thought you had a cousin named War Man?"

"No."

"Hit a vibe~?"

"Che."

"Heh! Today I'll show you my new abilities… No need from the tree-layered Boundary… I have enough with my sword and shield to make you run for your 3 bucks bank notes."

"There aren't 3 USD bank notes."

"Fénimore Buttercup thinks otherwise."

Burai had shown up on the pier the Shunoros island base had and was facing Kuroban who was giving him the back and looking at the sea: he began to pull jokes without bothering to turn and Burai began to get annoyed.

"Who?"

"The famed maker of fake money… Heh, heh, heh. Anyway… Let's go to somewhere safe from plebeian eyes… Follow me!"

He warped and Burai fumed as he also warped: both showed up in the "Wave Road" and they ran towards the SE while Kuroban chuckled aloud: Burai got a twitch over his right eye and Kuroban snickered as if he'd planned for that to happen.

"Heh, heh, heh. Judge Pointdexter will pull your right ear to tell you you're a bad kid."

"What in the…"

"KID! Knowledge of Infinite Disaster!"

"Not those again."

"Heh, heh."

Kuroban then dropped down into a forest path and ran it up until he reached a clearing with a round stone building with a dome: Kuroban jumped entered through a partly open window since the main door was locked with 3 padlocks: Burai followed him inside and they landed in the main room which had a central pedestal with a stone tablet filled with glyphs: the only light came from light filtered by the window shutters and it seemed to be pretty cold.

"Why do you always need to pick old On'Setsu Kingdom temples or shrines to begin with?" Burai fumed.

"Guess the royal blood flowing on me demands a noble spot for a clash between the two greatest nations of the old world… Technologically speaking, that is…" He shrugged.

"Whatever. Bring it on."

"Sure. Come! Aristeros Shield! Dexia Sword!"

The Aristeros Shield formed and he gripped it with the left hand while the Dexia Sword (colored white, having a golden hilt and the "Boundary" emblem on the hilt's center) showed up next: he picked it with the right hand and grinned.

"Let's go! Surprise Attack!"

"What?"

Kuroban ran forward and suddenly vanished out of sight to drop from above and make a superficial cut across the height of Burai's back: Burai turned to attack with the blade but he vanished elsewhere.

"Beware! The T – Abyss is on my side!"

"Now you're into _Biohazard_?" He grumbled.

"Heh, heh, heh. _Revelations_ was cool: different! It was interesting to see how they did work on character back-story and development in the partner characters!" His voice echoed all across the shrine.

"Heck. He picked this one because of its echo properties: I can't guess the guy's location just by listening to the voice."

"Feel the despair!"

"Shut up. That's but a cheap trick with stealth camouflage: I'll soon find you with my IR vision mode."

"Maybe you'll find Gray Fox instead?"

"Oh come on."

"Heh, heh, heh, heh, heh, heh... Terror: start! Kawanishi – Noseguchi… Kinunobebashi… Takiyama… Uguisunomori… Tsuzumigataki… Tada… Hirano… Ichinotorii… Uneno… Yamashita… Sasabe… Kofudai… Tokiwadai… Myokenguchi…! Gray Fox's ghost is haunting ya~…" He began to whisper at a speedy pace.

"Jeez. Now you've become an _otaku_?"

"Blame Otacon! He hid my cigarettes."

"How funny. And you're supposed to be the royal's family current descendant?"

"There's no law forbidding me from being an _otaku_." He chuckled.

"I suspect Gray Thunderbolt being to blame."

"More like the whole club."

"Lovely."

"Isn't it, Burai? BURAI! Brute! Ugly! Retard! Aggressive! Idiot!"

"Che." He grumbled.

"Enough warming-up… Heh, heh, heh! Ready or not, here I come… Hide your soul!"

Burai drew his sword and placed it on a blocking angle as Kuroban showed up from the right while having his Dexia Sword extended and running past Burai: both swords did get to clash but Kuroban kept on running towards the opposite wall to then climb it up and spin in the air to land in front of Burai and clash again: Burai gasped and began to apply force because he was starting to yield: he suddenly lost his footing and slid backwards until he met the right wall: he groaned and then saw that the ground had been turned into an Ice Stage.

"Heck. You were distracting me while you finished freezing the whole of the ground. And that wall-climbing thing is "van der Waals force" to begin with. And you don't slide because you have Float Shoes on." Burai calmly listed.

"Heh, heh, heh. Bravo, meitantei – sama. Uncle Moriarty will commend you yet."

"I'm fed up with that joke."

"Tell that to the Joker and he'll bathe you in acids."

"Che. Fight me seriously!"

"Fine. Sand Stage!"

The ground changed to Sand Stage and both began to clash blades again: this time Burai seemed to gain the upper hand but he seemed to believe it was a trap so he recoiled just as Kuroban placed all of his strength forward: yet he only managed to fall into the ground because Burai had moved away and stopped clashing swords: Kuroban stood up and spat some sand while fuming.

"Alright. No more Mr. Nice. This time you'll learn a lesson." He grumbled at Burai.

"On the contrary: you will earn the lesson."

"Metal Stage!"

Both ran for each other and began to clash and step forward or back: sometimes they used their shields to block as well and none of them seemed to get tired: Burai then stepped back and shot his energy fists forward across the air: they hit Kuroban as he raced towards Burai but he didn't seem to think it'd been mere luck.

_This guy's aiming for a Muramasa strategy… Maybe he's going to do some energy loop like other times… Bah… Nothing to get worried about: that strategy is over-used._

"… and such the hatred is gone…" A voice suddenly whispered and echoed all around them.

"HUH?" Both gasped.

They stopped and looked around but they didn't seem to spot anyone to begin with.

"Is there any Cyber World here?" Burai questioned.

"The security system… Very basic… But it's connected to the security company…" Kuroban trailed off.

"What is revenge? What is vengeance? What do they achieve?"

"Good question." Burai admitted aloud.

"Well… Good question, yeah. I hadn't asked myself either."

"Hatred? Hatred. Is that the reason we fight each other? But what is the source of hatred? Or what is the source of ambition, lust, greed, gluttony, laziness or grudge? Why? Why do we need to fight each other? Why be ruled by such vain things?" The voice kept on asking in a hushed voice which echoed around them.

"Their dialect doesn't precisely indicate gender. It could both: a man or a woman." Kuroban muttered.

"Hmpf… I won't be satisfied until I find who is talking. I'm going to check out the Cyber World."

"Fine. I won't stop you."

Burai headed over to the entrance where there was a control panel: he warped inside of the Cyber World and found it to be poorly lit: the only glow was the central console and the only presence there was a golden-colored Program – kun.

"Hmmm?"

Burai realized that, on a closer look, the Program – kun was actually green like any other and it had a golden light surrounding its frame: its eyes were golden too.

"Who is there?"

"Tell me. Why loot?" The Program – kun turned around and asked.

"Why loot? Hmmm… Guess it's either desperation, the need for it or, in a war's case, arrogance and the desire to inflict humiliation."

"Why inflict humiliation? Do you not have enough with robbing the lives of others?"

"Eh… Well… Don't ask me. I'm no soldier."

"Ah. True. Yet! Did not your land do that to another?"

"B-but… The chronicles say that all soldiers deserted least they invoke the anger of the Gods… The citizens had not wished for that invasion to happen to begin with… So they sent the Erand Soldiers to do it instead: guess it was a really coward thing to do but…"

"But? What justification is it? If your leaders are strong… Why cannot they prove it themselves? Why do they have to doom others? Why cannot they do it themselves? Are they weak? Are they frail?"

"Well…" He trailed off.

"And such humanity has killed each other out of foolishness, with many young lives lost for vain goals…"

"Vain goals…? Stopping Germany in WWII was a vain goal?"

"Ah. True. There could be exceptions. Yet!"

"Yet?"

"Is there a need to continue that old conflict? Between you and that other man?"

"Need? Well… He tried to take control of our Continent so…"

"Yet you sank it into the ocean. Did the reason not vanish along with your Continent? Did he hurt your kindred?"

"W-well, no, but…"

"So? Then why? Why continue the hatred?"

"Well… By now it's not so much hatred… I mean… Hatred isn't the reason we fight anymore… It's more like a competition…"

"Hum. So you have realized that it brings no power."

"Hatred? Of course not. Power depends on your own self. You must build that power. You must create it." He replied.

"Do you really believe we need to shed so many lives just to stop a few tens of humans driven by madness?"

"Huh? You mean… The Middle East stuff…?"

"Yes. Indeed. This world has gone mad. We may all be mad for all we know."

"Mad? Well… Yeah. I sometimes feel like the world's gone mad around me, yeah."

"There is always some ulterior motive… Some vain motive… And sometimes tragedies happen and no one is held responsible for it, instead trying to diver the blame to others… Out of murky connections and irresponsibility… Humans can be cowardly and foolish."

"Y-yeah. Of course."

"Why bring pain to the others in exchange for something which will not bring you happiness? Something which will only make your own greed and arrogance grow?"

"You mean those "Lobby" guys? They're fools."

"Hum. Indeed. Yet! The time has finally come… The time in which we shall purge the wandering souls and let them finally see the "light"…"

The Program – kun produced a golden flash and Burai shielded his eyes: when the flash vanished the lighting was back to normal and the Program – kun was snoring.

"Who the heck was that?" He wondered.

He warped back into the real world where Kuroban was merely crossing his arms while looking at the pedestal's tablet: his weapons had been laid at the start of the stairs.

"How ironic. I didn't realize it. This shrine is dedicated to one of the Grand Virtues… Harmony. Guess I did pick the wrong place for this. And whoever was in the Cyber World seemingly knew this and thus began to question our values as if hoping for us to achieve harmony."

"Hmpf… So it'd seem… My mood to fight you is gone, even… But next time there'll be no one to stop me from bringing out my true strength: you better remember that."

"Of course."

Burai warped out of the building and Kuroban sighed as he sat down in the stairs giving his back to the tablet.

"That voice's right… Now that makes me wonder… What point is there to Urateido staying in Shunoros now that I quit using clubs to gather money, anyway? Oh well. As long as the man behaves then guess there's no need to question that." He muttered aloud.

He stretched and picked his weapons before warping out and reappearing into the "Road Wave".

_Guess we gotta do something about those lobby guys. Slur would agree: we need to combine forces and bring them down. We can't let others suffer while those fools bathe themselves in filthy money, bloody money, evil money…! Get ready… The High One's judgment is coming…!_


	19. Chapter 19: Beyond hatred & grudge

**Chapter 19: Beyond hatred and grudge**

20:20 PM (Japan Time), Tuesday June the 7th…

"… MUGRO~H!"

"… Napalm Man? If that's your idea of a joke then it's LAME."

"GURRRO~H!"

"Practicing for Halloween already? We're still over 4 months away from that, you know?"

BRRRRO~M!

"What the fuck? An earthquake? In the Cyber World?"

"Warning! To all Golden Star Navis! The ghost server Navis: they've broken through the firewalls!"

"What the fuck!"

Andy had been sitting in a chair placed in a corner of the _Purgatory_ Cyber World: some growls or howls rang out but he didn't pay attention since he was going over a holographic screen with text on it: there was a sudden rumble which made him spring out of the chair and then Zero's voice came in through some speakers.

"DELETE~!"

"What!"

"Lion Head!"

"Fuck. Desert Man for Desserts."

"To all Navis: fight back! I'm going to look up historical records and send you data on each enemy's weaknesses!"

All of the Navis suddenly entered the Cyber World (Slur as well) and they looked south to the broken firewall: a large group of Navis was advancing and one of them, Desert Man, formed a Lion Head which shot towards Andy but he leapt to the right to dodge.

"Beast Ray!"

"Lion Head!"

"Royal Wrecking Ball!"

"Mag Missile!"

"Quick Boomerang!"

"Fire Arm!"

"Chaos Flame!"

"Spark Arm!"

"Bomber Kick!"

"Stone Fall!"

"Cross Spark!"

"Lightning Blast!"

"Hoa~h! Triple Tornado~!"

"Heck. 13. The 13 Navis of Doom?"

"Legato. I do not find a point in that sarcasm."

"I apologize, Slur – sama."

"Attack."

"Roger! Go!"

The Navis rushed towards the incoming attackers (after blocking, dodging or being hit by the attacks) and a battle ensued.

"This is Tom: Cloud Man is my foe."

Tom jumped into the air and drew two _macehete_ knives which he skillfully spun on his hands before stabbing both of Cloud Man's shoulders: he then leapt into the air and flipped on it before dropping behind the guy and stabbing his back: he spun the knives to draw a circle and took them out.

"Here!"

He stabbed them again in the middle of the circle and took out a piece of armor to allow him to see his Ultimate Program (a white spheroid of energy with many cables protruding from it): he formed a grenade and dropped it inside while Cloud Man was busy attacking an after-image of Tom: the real Tom leapt away into the air just as the grenade went out and Cloud Man was blown up.

"Cloud Man: defeated." He drily reported.

"Alright. This gray-skinned fellow is mine."

Sandra was clashing a Bamboo Sword against Elec Man's Elec Sword and they both were struggling in the deadlock: she then jumped and delivered a kick with her right boot to Elec Man's face to momentarily stun him: she crouched behind him and performed a _judo_ – like maneuver to drop him face-up into the ground and then inflict a cut on his chest emblem with the Bamboo Sword: Elec Man growled and warped to get back to his feet: he formed a set of 3 gray metallic turrets which conducted electricity: it hit him and he laughed.

"Huh? HP recovery move… Well. No big deal. Grass Stage! Tornado! Be gone!"

She formed the Grass Stage and then shot the Tornado Battle Chip at Elec Man thus creating a combo: the tornado sucked in the grass and it hit Elec Man several times in a row: he roared and Sandra charged for him but he signaled the sky with his right index finger: a bolt of lightning fell down but Sandra merely placed the "Lightning Rod" Batltle Chip there: she kept on running and drove her sword through Elec Man, emerging through the back: Elec Man roared and was deleted.

"Well. No big deal. Guess our "ghost" built them in a rush without bothering to toughen them." She muttered.

"Hmpf… Here's a lesson, you gorilla wannabe. Go back to your forsaken island."

"Laser!"

Lily, on the other hand, was confronting Stone Man: he formed a small stone face sculptured in a cylindrical stone body with two brown caps having a dome-like shape: the face shot a green thick laser forward but she drew the Reflect Battle Chip and shot it back at Stone Man, thus momentarily stunning him.

"Area Steal! Drill Man! Eat medicine, ugly."

She warped right in front of the guy and quickly drilled her way into the body beneath the head: Stone Man howled and made his arms drop into the ground to make it shake: some stones fell from the "sky" but they hit Stone Man instead because she was taking cover underneath his head to begin with: she finished drilling and tossed a Mega Energy Bomb inside of the opening: it blew up and defeated Stone Man from the inside: his body crumbled and became a heap of rubble.

"By Moran! This guy's FAST. I hate to admit it, though."

"Quick Boomerang!"

Victor was having trouble keeping up with Quick Man's speed as he quickly circled him in an anti-clockwise manner and shot the boomerangs at him which he dodged by ducking: he had a Long Blade drawn on his right forearm.

"Huff! I must find a way to slow him down… Gotcha! Battle Chip, Thunder Ball!"

He formed the Thunder Ball and it slowly crept towards Quick Man from behind: it hit him as he stopped to launch another attack and he gasped as he got paralyzed.

"My turn. Program Advance! Cannon, Hi Cannon, Mega Cannon! Zeta Cannon! Say bye."

Victor shot several rounds from the PA and they all hit the stopped Quick Man while piercing through his body: he roared and was deleted so Victor sighed in relief.

"Alright. That makes 4 of 13."

"… Tsunami!"

"Gruh! Ant Lions! Heavy Sand!"

Alex had chosen to face against Desert Man: he'd attacked with the Tsunami Battle Chips thus humidifying the guy and slowing him down: he dodged the "Ant Lions" holes and the blocks which fell from above while rushing towards Desert Man but he formed his two towers to protect himself.

"No problem. Battle Chip, Boomerang!"

He shot the Boomerang Battle Chip and it circled past the turrets and hit Desert Man from the side: he growled and then merged with the Sand Stage to show up in another spot.

"Great Lion Head!"

"Invisible! Earthquake! _The end_."

He became invisible and dodged the attack before forming the Earthquake Battle Chip and dropping it into Desert Man, crushing the guy beneath it as evidenced by his roar of agony.

"5 out of 13!"

"Bomber Kick!"

"Ya wanna bomb? I'll give ya bomb! Napalm Bomb!"

"Ugro~h!"

"Heh! Keepin' those bombs there is your downfall, ugly!"

Napalm Man dodged a bomb which Bomber Man kicked over and he laughed as he shot one of his Napalm Bombs from the muzzle on his forehead: it set the bombs in Bomber Man's field on fire and they exploded thus momentarily stunning the guy: Napalm Man then formed two Vulcan Arm guns.

"Vulcan Arm! Lock on! Fire~!"

"Muro~h!"

"Napalm Bomb!"

While Bomber Man was stunned by the short bursts of the automatic guns Napalm Man dropped another Napalm Bomb on the guy and set the guy on flames: he roared and was deleted.

"Hah! Weak! 6 outta 13!"

"Ice Mode. Ice Stage! Ice Dagger!"

Beta X was hovering in the air: his main armor color (except the white armor) had changed to a cyan blue color and he'd formed the Ice Stage beneath Knight Man (who'd turned into stone mode to avoid damage): he then formed a mass of ice which seemed to be a square with a half-dome atop it: he shot it for Knight Man as he switched off stone mode to aim his Royal Wrecking Ball at Beta X: it cut into his chest emblem and the attack froze him because of the Ice Stage.

"Now! Doll Thunder! Attack Plus 30!"

The Doll Thunder inflicted further damage given how the opponent was atop the Ice Stage and trapped into a mass of ice: Knight Man howled but didn't look like he was going down yet: he shot the Royal Wrecking Ball and it hit Beta X fully yet he vanished in a cloud of smoke while dropping a _chibi_ doll of "Laplace": he reappeared behind Knight Man and shot 10 _shuriken_ in a row which got stuck into the armor: they suddenly glowed with a red glow and Knight Man howled as something happened inside of his armored body.

"The bugs I infected the guy with will cause the Ultimate Program to implode and he'll be deleted from the inside. All of them are in automated mode and have no mind to begin with, anyway." He muttered.

Knight Man fell down into the ground making it shake with violence and was deleted: Beta X sighed in relief and then picked the doll.

"Zarashe – kun and his weird jokes." He grumbled.

"Cannon Ball!"

"N – S Tackle!"

"Too bad. You fail, bad boy."

Akemi was confronting Magnet Man: she hit him with the Cannon Ball Battle Chip and then jumped in the air to avoid his N-S Tackle: Magnet man whipped around and formed a Mag Ball which he shot at Akemi but she merely dropped into the ground thus making it fail: she jumped into the air again and delivered a kick to Magnet Man's head from behind: he growled and tried to punch her twice but she simply ducked and jumped backwards to put some distance between them.

"Battle Chip, Bamboo Lance!"

She attacked him with the Bamboo Lances and they pierced through his thin body thickness: he growled and managed to shoot a Mag Ball at her again which she blocked using a Stone Cube: Magnet Man was deleted and she wiped some sweat off her forehead.

"Phew. That makes 9 out of 13."

"Atomic Blazer!"

"Hoa~h! Tornado~!"

"Heck. Even the Atomic Blazer got nullified…"

Andy tried shooting an attack named "Atomic Blazer" (a large blast of fire) at Air Man but it merged with the Tornado he was using and dispersed: Andy grumbled under his breath as he seemingly tried to come up with a new strategy.

"Alright. Jet boots: on! Ice Cannon Ball!"

He flew upwards until he was floating over Air Man who didn't notice that: he dived for the guy and dropped the Ice Cannon Ball on him to turn him into a mass of ice which fell down and shattered upon hitting the floor 10 meters below: the tornado began to cool down and disperse so Andy dropped down and grinned.

"Heh! Stone Cube, Poison Seed!"

He formed a Stone Cube at Air Man's left and dropped the Poison Seed.

"Hoah?"

He then formed a Net Battle stage and trapped Air Man in the last row: he then smirked and looked up to something while Air Man kept on losing HP given how he was atop a Poison Panel.

"Program Advance! Poison Anubis, Poison Seed, Poison Seed! Poison Pharaoh!"

A purple-colored Pharaoh Man dropped to the right of Air Man while facing the north and Air Man's HP drop increase.

"Sanctuary, Dream Aura."

Andy's next move was to turn his whole field into Sanctuary and activate a "Dream Aura" to protect from Air Man's miniature tornadoes which he shot at him: Air Man eventually collapsed from the lack of HP and Andy charged up his buster (colored bronze and having 4 silver grooves on the corners): a golden sphere of energy took shape.

"Golden Buster!"

"HOA~H!"

The blast hit Air Man and deleted him so he sighed in relief and turned around to see how the others were faring like.

"Fire Arm!"

"Hmpf! You walking torch. You fool. Go back to your recycle bin. Sonic Boom!"

Legato happened to be fighting Fire Man: he aimed his arms forward and shot two rows of flames at Legato who dodged and countered with a Sonic Boom which momentarily stunned the enemy: Legato rushed in and attacked thrice: first he acted like a Long Sword, then as a Wide Sword and then formed a cross-shaped attack: Fire Man howled and his eyes glowed as his flames increased.

"FIRE ARM!"

"Useless. Repetitive. Over-used. Element Sonic!"

He shot four attacks of the four different elements which hit Fire Man and he was destroyed by them: Legato lowered the blade and shrugged as if that had been nothing.

"They're toying with us. 11 of 13." He grumbled.

"Chaos Flame!"

"Sheesh. Those candles ARE annoying. Z – Saber!"

Zero confronted Flame Man but he was being bounced back by his "Invincible Mode": he then sliced both candles in half to cut it out and jumped to attack his main body from above: Flame Man growled and tried to drop the giant flames into Zero but he warped and cut off his legs on half: Flame Man collapsed on the ground.

"Fire Breath!"

He vomited flames but Zero calmly warped again and made his blade begin to hum: he dodged another Fire Breath and then dashed for Flame Man.

"Zan-Datsu!"

"Fire… Uo~h!"

Zero began to cut the guy's body to pieces and by the time he managed to react the pieces slowly floated outwards: his Ultimate Program exploded and only a crater was left behind: Zero landed on the ground and fumed out of annoyance.

"Damned ghost. 12 of 13. Boss must be tackling the last one. Well: I better bring the Program – kuns here and try to recover whatever data survived to see if there was anything useful there. Which I doubt."

"Jumping Claw!"

"Fool. Be gone."

Beast Man jumped for Slur but she merely dashed past him while having her yellow sword drawn and cut him in two halves by the waist while splitting his "Ultimate Program" in two as well.

"Gu… Gurra~h!"

He exploded as well and everyone sighed in relief: some Program – kuns warped in and began to gather remaining data clusters into energy bubbles: Blues came in through the broken firewall while looking pretty if not much beaten up.

"What happened, Blues?" Enzan asked.

"Enzan – sama. I'd gone to report to the Net Police HQ and we had to fend off the Cybeasts."

"What the! How in the world did you win against those, you and Punk?"

"They were just 12.5% of their original mass and power."

"Ah! Man. But I guess they were hard to chew, nevertheless?"

"Falzer was: Punk found out that using a Reflect Folder you could beat Greiga just by bouncing back his flame attack."

"Ahem… White flag!" Gray Thunderbolt showed up next while waving a white flag.

"Kuroban sends you." Slur guessed.

"Y-yeah. The Gospel Cybeast showed in our base… Luckily it was but 25% of its original mass and power so we won… somehow!" He also looked pretty beaten up as well.

"The "ghost" has decided to challenge us three, then… Maybe they thought they would be able to gather battle data on us."

"S-sounds logical… Y-ya will excuse me, b-but I'm g-going back… See ya!"

Gray Thunderbolt ran off as if fearing that Slur would beat him there and then while Andy walked away.

"I will go gather information, Slur – sama. Such movements of Navis should've been detected by some transit monitoring system. Maybe there is some data left on how they were transmitted."

"Wise thinking. Go."

20:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Man! What an evening. I know we have the final exams next week but we wanted to drop by for a while to check on the mood…"

"I know, Miquel – kun. And this happened. Well. We should be glad they'd been weakened, we really should."

"Yeah, man… That "ghost"… What the hell is their goal?"

"Dunno. I wouldn't speculate."

"There you are, BRAT! I'll BURY you!"

"Hmmm? "Barbatos", huh. You never know to pick someone of your size to begin with? Where's your pride? Did it get rusted too?"

"Shaddup."

"Dark Power or not that won't help you win."

"I'll cut you up. Right here. Right now."

"That sounds like Grievous. Anyway. I'd rather refuse. I don't have time to spend on you. Go train in some MMORPG."

"Wha~t?"

Andy had been jumping and dashing across some platforms of the Reverse Internet and getting closer to a "node" as he chatted with Kage: the "node" was a small device barely one meter tall which had a prism form and was made of a white/grayish metal: it had eight lines running down its surface originating from the top where a circle had been drawn: he was almost there when "Barbatos" dropped down in front of him and aimed the sword at him but he was unimpressed.

"Use your BRAINS. Boil them." He taunted.

"This brat!"

"You never bother to remember others' names, right?"

"I don't need to!"

"My, my. What happened to your social etiquette?"

"What the fuck is that?"

"Oh well. Forget that. Go visit Darth Bane's holocron. I'm busy dealing with some sneaky jerk so get out of the way. Or do I need to call for Slur – sama to settle it with you?"

"DIE~!"

"Fine. You've just pissed me off. Here it goes."

"Fuck."

"Barbatos" ran for him but then Andy glared at him with a glare that could kill and he suddenly stopped dead on his tracks: energy began to flow out of Andy's chest emblem and gave way to a red and black energy "cocoon" about two meters tall and hovering about five centimeters above the ground: all lighting around them suddenly dimmed and "Barbatos" seemed to lose his confidence, even.

"That… That… Again…!"

"… And such… Today… The blade I am… Shall destroy "Evil"!" Andy's voice echoed out of nowhere but it seemed to icier than usual.

"Fuck."

"Fight!" "Quick Man" formed behind "Barbatos" and pushed him forward in a violent manner.

"Shut up, Nebula Grey! You lowlife are but a tool!"

"Hmpf! You fool. You lowlife are the Demon Tribe's tool!"

"Shut the fuck up. I don't need you around! Die!"

"What!"

"Barbatos" whipped around and sliced "Quick Man" in half diagonally while also cutting the "core" of Nebula Grey in half: there was an inhuman roar of agony before the core exploded and the rest of Quick Man's body became but a heap of ash.

"Get ready."

"Fuck. Forgot about the brat!"

"HRA~H!"

"Ugo~h! Damn it!"

"Barbatos" gasped and turned around as the "cocoon" exploded and the energy release dropped him into the ground: he managed to look up and gasped at what he saw.

"… Ryuusei Form…!"

"Fuck."

Andy's new form had an "advanced" look to it yet it also looked terrifying.

The helmet's design was rather peculiar because it wasn't a full helmet to begin with: the sides of it had two gray metallic shapes the form of which was slightly reminiscent of the Alphabet "L" character: a fluorescent green incision had been cut in the part adjacent to the face while the larger segments had a yellow-colored incision cut into it.

The segment covering the head was built using a blackish material and could be divided in four sections: the centermost, built like a triangle aiming south and which also covered the forehead: it ended slightly over the start of the nose.

The western and eastern sections of the head's protection had been shaped after diamonds aiming NW and NE plus having green fluorescent material running down the sides to join with the "L" shapes.

The rearmost piece was a mere curved segment connecting the lateral pieces: a gray metallic triangle was drawn on the middle of the head from where a black-colored fin emerged: the fluorescent green line divided it into two unequal portions: front and rear, and the rear one was painted using gray metallic coloring.

Andy's hair came out of behind the helmet given how it was a "partial protection" model.

Red thick shades covered the eyes and nose plus a small grayish metallic piece of armor was built to protect his chin and lower jaw: the skin over his neck was black in color.

Andy's eyes, visible under the transparent red shades, displayed a total lack of emotion and they surprisingly had switched to a mix of red and blue as if to display his current "Full Synchro" status.

The chest area had a metallic spheroid protruding out of it and a green-colored incision had been cut on the middle of it: the upper front half was colored in a white-like color while the rear upper half was black: however, the whole lower half had chosen gray as color to be used: the piece of armor below it and connecting to the rest of the body shared the same color.

The armor's colors were combined in the rest of the body below the chest segment: the flanks of the body had grey armor with green fluorescent edges while the central part of the body was tinted in pitch blackish coloring.

Regarding his arms' design, a black piece of armor covered the shoulders which were encompassed by metallic spheroids: these spheroids were not "complete" spheroids.

That was because they had a cavity from where the arms emerged: a thin fluorescent green circular line was placed close to the upper edge where the armor was colored in black color and formed a dome with a hole at the topmost part of each spheroid: the inner edge of each spheroid was painted using a yellow palette of coloring: these spheroids also had an indentation signaling the separation between each half.

His arms' skin was black in coloring while the armor built over his wrists was painted using two colors: black for the upper half and gray for the lower half: a small thin piece of armor emerging from the upper half and shaped like the Alphabet "L" character turned 90º to the right was also present there: the hands' skin was also colored using black coloring.

The legs' armor, however, included two shapes which were a pair of combined cones (fused and aiming up and down) colored metallic gray.

They were set within a green cavity extending from the hips to past the knees.

The colors then split as the outer edge of each leg was colored in gray armor while the inner edge were colored black: a green fluorescent line marked the division between them: the lines then drew another cavity which included gray metallic armor plating inside of it.

The feet armor was split in rear and front halves respectively colored black and metallic gray: a fin formed on the front half and it had a green fluorescent line crossing it on its front.

Two discs having an external black edge, an inner thin yellowish edge and a red dome built on the core were set on the upper ends of the shoulder-mounted-pieces: yellowish energy emanated from them and made them look powerful and imposing.

Lastly, two extensions came out from behind the body which happened to be black-colored frames supporting reddish wings which were made of energy flowing from the shorter starting section to the larger outwards section.

"Black End Galaxy~!"

"Fuck."

Andy executed his "Black End Galaxy" attack and, when he hit "Barbatos" with the sword, he made it glow in a golden color and plunged it into his chest emblem but he only placed the tip inside: time seemed to freeze and he slowly took it out before flying past the "black hole" as it imploded: the explosion sent "Barbatos" rolling across the ground yet he quickly stood up.

"What the hell? Something weird is making its way into my "Ultimate Program"? What's this?" He demanded.

"Red Gaia Eraser!"

"Gwruo~h!"

"Kyae~h!"

Andy didn't bother to reply and executed his second attack which caused that dome-shaped explosion: there was a roar followed by a loud shriek and a figure could be distinguished between the smoke: several metallic sounds rang out as the armor pieces seemingly fell off "Barbatos" and hit the ground: the shape of wings and talons and claws became visible emerging from a human-shaped body: the body was convulsing at the same time it emitted some bursts of white light.

"Ugrua~h! Gra~h! Burns! It burns! It's burning from the inside~!"

"Kuwae~h!"

"Do not fret. You are being purged." A voice rang out.

"Huh? That voice…" Kage wondered.

"… It couldn't be…!" Andy muttered.

He landed on the ground as his "Ryuusei Form" began to glow in an intermittent manner: energy flowed out of it as the pieces dissolved and formed the "cocoon" again: when it vanished he'd regained his normal form and he was looking at a glowing shape which seemed to be embracing the figure within the smoke.

"Y-you… Impossible… You…" "Barbatos" uttered.

"You have forgotten? I was there, years ago. When I encouraged you to destroy the Cybeast… Do not fret… Your suffering will finally be put to an end and you shall be reborn… Reset… Into what you were, what you were supposed to be… I have looked on for years, waiting… And the time has finally come… It will hurt as the "anger" and "grudge" and "hatred" inside of you are banished. But it is for your sake… You will be able to let go of these countless years of suffering…" The voice whispered in a soft manner without stopping using a polite register.

"C-could it be?" Kage gasped.

"THAT person, the one Rock Man talked about…! Slur – sama's close friend…! Could it be?" Andy gasped as well.

"Indeed. I am who you gentlemen think I am."

"My body… It's getting weak… The guy… It's getting quiet…" "Barbatos" slowly muttered.

The wings, claws and talons seemed to break down into several clusters of data and be dispersed as the figure got bathed in golden light: there was some faint whispering but it was too faint to pick up any understandable words: it sounded like a song even.

"I suddenly feel… kindness…" Andy muttered as if enchanted by what was going on.

"I feel something like that, too… kindness, a desire to forgive… A desire to fix all damage done… To free you from pain and suffering…" Kage slowly commented.

"… F… F… Fa… Father… I'm… coming back… home…" "Barbatos" slowly muttered.

The golden glow began to dim and they collapsed face-down while the shape which had been embracing him seemed to hover some centimeters over the ground: Andy looked upwards and saw that they were surrounded by a golden-colored thick dome of energy.

"Guess it's to prevent anything from getting in and to prevent onlookers to figure out what's going on." He guessed.

"But… Could it be? Did the Vaccine Chip really work?" Kage wondered aloud.

"It looks like it… I think that "they" contributed as well… They must have some ability left to them…"

"No need for this curtain of smoke anymore… Let there be light."

The smoke dispersed and both gasped: Serenade, the Reverse King, was standing there yet he was but a hologram given how one could easily see across him: the pieces of armor belonging to "Barbatos" plus the sword were scattered around Serenade and, lying face-down on the ground while being unconscious was Forte, the Ultimate Navi.

"Reverse King, Serenade – sama, I assume?" Andy gasped.

"Indeed. That is me."

"But… Rock Man told us… That you were defeated by Forte in battle, years ago…"

"My body was. But my spirit, or, rather, my consciousness program, has lingered on. I had foreseen such a _scenario_. I have been watching, not acting, but now… Now it was the best chance. To show this child that he can finally live beyond hatred and grudge… That the wound on his heart can finally be healed… And what posed a menace has been contained so that it cannot threaten them again… Forte was just feeding on hatred and grudge, the ominous things existing in this world… But thanks to you gentlemen, all "evil" on his body has been purged and will never be able to enter it again… He's been filled with kindness… And that should return him to what he was before…" He explained.

"W-wow…"

"Now I have brought up his early memories, the memories he treasured but then locked away because he didn't have the courage to try to go back to that time, the wound on him was too deep… But now that wound has been finally healed… I shall bring him to his father's place: there he will surely be able to start again…"

"W-we understand, Serenade – sama."

"Ah yes. Do tell your interesting leader that I do not mind that she pretended to be a friend of mine. I would like to have a chat with her later on. I am sure we would end up debating a lot… About what is the source of "evil": what causes people to become so heartless…? Why do people need to harm others? That much I would like to debate."

He smiled and spread his arms: golden sparkling powder fell down from the dome as it began to vanish and both he and Forte vanished with a golden flash of light: Andy whistled in surprise and Kage sounded baffled by what had happened.

_Eh… Saito – niisan? Do you hear me?_

_You decided to reuse our "link", eh, Netto – kun?_

_Do you think that Forte has been really healed?_

_If Serenade says so… He IS Serenade, you know._

_Of course. I felt his power from the real world, even._

_So let's give him a chance: he'll surely remain at Dr. Cossack's place to try to find out what should be his new purpose in life… _

_Guess that… Man! What an evening! And tomorrow we'll get to know the latest news of this year's E3… I'm boiling!_

_Yeah. But we should finish preparing for the exams too. _

"What happened, Andy? I lost contact."

"Slur – sama! That is… Complicated."

"Complicated? Hmmm? Forte's armor? What happened?"

Slur showed up behind Andy and landed there: he turned around and bowed but he seemed to be unsure of how to describe what had happened: she then spotted the armor and frowned.

"That is… Could we talk about it in a secure spot?"

"Fine. Let us go to "Zero", the super-computer. It has sound-proof rooms which are safe."

She extended her right hand and formed a purplish "portal": both stepped inside and exited into a plain metallic room which no decoration whatsoever and a locked armored door as entry or exit.

"Well… That is… Serenade's spirit showed up!"

"What!"

"Indeed, ma'am! He helped us purge Forte and brought him to Dr. Cossack's place, ma'am. He said he would appear by here because there is a lot he would like to discuss with you, ma'am."

"That is… incredible." She looked genuinely surprised, by once.

"We know, ma'am." Kage admitted.

"So we should not worry about him anymore… Good… One less preoccupation for us… We should tackle the Crimson Lobby and put an end to them… We have had enough of tackling their proxies which act as out perimeter walls…" She muttered as she regained her serious composure.

"I am afraid we will not be available, ma'am."

"Yes, I know. Fulfill your duties. We will be more than sufficient." She shrugged.

"Boss? This is Zero. Sorry to burst in, but there only was comic book stuff, PKMN stuff and other games and comics' stuff plus _anime_ stuff… They're taken from our own blog to begin with… I mean… They know the hobbies of some members. And such they included this sarcasm to shoot it back at us… Dead end: no valuable info."

"I see."

"THIS PKMN LOOKS SCARY! IS IT THE MIGHT GENESECT?"

"You get back to work." Zero sighed.

"ROGER, CAPT'N ZEROX!"

"Who the hell said I'm named Zerox? It must be some other joked stuffed in the Navis' bodies to begin with." He grumbled.

"ADMIRAL XEROZ, SIR! FRANCIS DRAKE STRIKES FROM THE NNW!"

"By all the… This "ghost" now wants to laugh at ME? They're so gonna regret it, I swear." He growled next.

"ZERO IS ABOUT TO CATCH GIRATINA! GO, PIKACHUU! 100,000 VOLTS!"

"Not this damned joke again. I'm fed up with it!"

"Oh man." Both Andy and Kage rolled their eyes.

"How pointless…" Slur muttered with obvious annoyance.

"YAY! GOLDEN STAR RAMS INTO THE CRIMSON LOBBY WITH A BATTERING RAM COURTESY OF THE "T. I. A." WEAPONS DIVISION! YAY~!"


	20. Chapter 20: Fools' deathbed struggle

**Chapter 20: Fools' deathbed struggle**

06:57 AM (Japan Time), Thursday June the 9th…

"… Drill Man! You still haven't been able to get into that ship?"

"I am sorry, my Lord, but security has been tightened!"

"Magic Man! When will you get me those schematics?"

"I have tried, my Lord! But I cannot defeat 3 of them at the same time!"

"Fuck. Damned brat…!"

"Shit. Damned punks…!"

Drill Man and Magic Man were kneeling inside of a Cyber World space somewhere which had the banner "Crimson Lobby" floating in the air as screen-saver: both sounded nervous while their owners were obviously impatient.

"Fools." A voice rang out.

"Uh-oh." Both seemed to guess who it was.

"Who's there?"

"The Heavenly Punishment."

"Don't screw us!"

There was the sound of an explosion and both turned around to see Slur, Legato, Cosmo Man, Pharaoh Man, Needle Man, Burner Man, Video Man, Napalm Man, Freeze Man, Dark Man, Shade Man and Yamato Man stepping through the broken firewall.

"By all the…" Drill Man cursed.

"Drill Man. It's been a while, I guess? Or should I say: we firstly meet?"

"Dark Man! Heck! Why the heck are you with the good guys?"

"Well. I might be a twin for I all know. What "Dark Man" did in the past might've been my twin brother even." He shrugged.

"Sheesh!" Drill Man grumbled.

"Come! Viruses!"

Several species of Viruses formed around both Navis and Magic Man aimed his arms forward so they ran for the Golden Star Navis.

"Cosmo Prism!"

"Dark Shadow!"

"Sonic Boom!"

"Big Noise!"

"Thousand Spear!"

"Wind Cutter!"

"Burning… JET!"

"Needle Cannon! Messy Shooting!"

"Pharaoh Trap! Poison Anubis!"

"Be gone."

"Magic Fire!"

"Tunnel Crusher!"

An all-out fight began as the Navis defended against the hordes of Viruses and fought back: the Viruses included Mettools, Yura, Rabiri, Momoguran, Jelly, Killer Eyes, Swording, Garuu, Dream Bits, Powered, Kabutank, Chample, Catcusroller, Drickroll, Pulsebat, Lalapappa, Cattack, Handies, Whirlrim, Mariner, BombBoy, Metafire, Genin, Zaemon, Geirack, Eleoga, Woodnote, Skullbia, Dragurin, Curzd, Pikara and Applesam: Drill Man and Magic Man also attacked.

"Police! Nobody move! Lift your hands!"

"Get the hell outta my office, you cops!"

"You don't have authority."

"I'm the head of…!"

"You're a criminal organization just like any other. Your political connections won't save you. We arrested them too for accepting bribes, see."

"I'm the head of…!"

"Head of a company or not, you're under arrest for attempted kidnapping and for breaking into the Net Police's HQ Cyber World."

"Devil!" Magic Man cursed.

"Fuck." Drill Man hissed.

"Join us." A dull voice suddenly rang out of nowhere.

Both gasped as a gray stain formed on the ground and it suddenly expanded to form a large gray circle with equally gray edge: none of the Golden Star Navis seemed to have noticed it yet to begin with because they were blowing up the Viruses: Drill Man and Magic Man had stepped back after getting some wounds: the circle then glowed while both ran out of it: a grayish flash ensued and they gasped when seeing that all of the Navis within the circle and the Viruses had turned into stone and seemed to be frozen in time.

"The effects shall not last long. Even less against her. You have 5.75 seconds to decide. Do you want to survive? Or do you want to go down "heroically" in this moment and place?"

"W-we join you, oh Highness!"

"Fair enough."

There was another flash and both Navis vanished from the spot: the "stone body" around Slur began to shatter and crack before it broke into countless shards: she looked surprised and taken aback, for once, given her look, but she quickly regained her composure: the other Navis began to get back to normal as well.

"What happened, Slur – sama?" Legato asked.

"… The "ghost"… They froze us and they have taken those two." She summed up with a shrug of the shoulders.

"Devil! They sure came up with a strong time-freezing program if even Slur – sama got frozen." Legato grumbled.

"Indeed…" She trailed off and looked like she suspected something.

"The Viruses are still frozen… What do we do?" Cosmo Man asked.

"They pose no threat to us. Let us send them to the Virus Breeder: they shall be studied. And one day Viruses will be able to peacefully co-exist with Net Navis. Maybe they will become the new Cyber Pets." She formed a smug smile at the end.

"Understood. Allow me." Legato bowed.

"Yes. Do handle that. I shall go back already: there is something I need to investigate ASAP."

"Roger."

Slur flew out of the space while the Navis began to attach Science Labs stickers to the Viruses and transfer them away: Cosmo Man then headed over for a terminal and brought up footage.

"See. That gray stain…" He signaled.

"So that's the gizmo. How subtle. It blends with the ground." Dark Man muttered.

"Hum. So our "ghost" wants to play subtle." Shade Man rubbed his chin with the right claw.

"Hmpf! A mere plebeian…" Yamato Man scoffed.

"Indeed… Let them be struck by a hammer of anger!" Pharaoh Man grumbled.

"Now, now. Cool it down, everyone. We won the battle." Legato tried to calm them down.

"This can hardly be called a battle." Freeze Man warned.

"More like a brawl?" Burner Man ventured.

"If you must name it as such…"

"Heh! A brawl's a brawl and I'm burnin'! Sorry, _Danna_, but I wanna go shoot my guns 'round!" Napalm Man got cocky.

"Fine. Just don't break anything of public property."

"Yahoo! Oi! Needle Man! Let's bust!"

"Shah, shah, shah! Bust!" Needle Man grinned.

"Heh. I'm comin' for the thrill ride too." Burner Man looked at his right forearm.

"Include me as well!"

"Fine. Just remember: don't go too far."

"Roger!"

The hyperactive quartet ran off while Cosmo Man looked like he was thinking about something: he was rubbing his chin with the right hand and looked thoughtful.

"Is something the matter?" Dark Man asked.

"Hmmm… It seems to me like some attempt to imitate a "time-lock" as described in the _Halo: Cryptum_ novel… The artifact which kept the "Primordial" frozen in time… At miniature scale… Maybe they got inspired from there, even…" He ventured.

"It's not crazy. I'll note it down. Maybe Zero can find something: maybe this is some experiment of the Ameroupe Army which "Ghost" stole from them to begin with." Legato shrugged.

"Hum. It could be, yet… Something tells me the truth is far more complicated." He looked slightly nervous at the idea.

"Maybe we're all over-reacting. Let's pull out."

"Roger!"

08:18 AM (Philippines Time)…

"… So those fools are over."

"Yeah, _aibou_… Golden Star raided 'em yet "Ghost" _recruited_ Drill Man and Magic Man."

"Hum. And they could be strengthened…"

"Yeah. Let's be careful. They have some time-freeze device…"

"Ah! Yeah. We should be wary of it, true."

"Man. The sight from this cupola IS bizarre…"

"Isn't it? So many stars… Yet the Sun is something so small and distant which you barely notice… A frozen world… Our sensor data have told us that there indeed aren't even some meager bacteria… It's just like Mars but Mars would feel like a tropical place compared to his rock."

"Now the point of this base seems to have been lost, hasn't it?"

"Well. Yeah. At first I thought we could always operate from here but the members didn't feel comfortable so we've reused the Philippines base for convenience. This should be like a last refuge in case some party was to assault us: we'd escape with Denpa – Henkan, go to the closest portal machine and self-destruct it."

"I see."

Eisei and Kuroban were talking while sitting in chairs placed within a round metallic room somewhere which had a cupola atop it allowing one to see a starry sky with a purple glow further away: Eisei looked uneasy and Kuroban was calm.

"Kyutora… A planet located in a pocket dimension… Or so it seemed: in truth this planet is located further away on the Orion arm yet it's like a rogue planet because it orbits no "Sun"… The portal beyond the Kuiper Belt was left behind by those "Creators" to find it and then discover the citadel…" Eisei muttered.

"Yeah… They remind you of the Forerunners or the Precursors."

"I'd rather have them be the Forerunners. The Precursors don't seem to be too benign to begin with. Or were. According to the Iso – Didact, the "Primordial" was but an ancient Gravemind… And it'd seem that the "Flood" is more complicated than we thought…"

"Indeed. It now seems like it was something purposeful, some kind of test aimed at both humans and Forerunners… And only humans passed that test… Guess we'll know more when the 3rd book comes out next year, anyway. _Halo 4_ might include some hints for all we know." Kuroban commented.

"Oh yeah. The E3 stuff was mind-blowing. That Forerunner planet, Requiem, is the stage… A human ship named _Infinity_ is dragged into the planet… And there are some weird enemies which seem to have skulls for heads… Tons of them…" Eisei trailed off.

"Switching topics yet still speaking of the E3… _Revengeance_ is getting more intriguing with every reveal… Now we got told the enemy will be a corporation named Desperado Enforcement… And some "cyborg" bosses as well… Mistral… Monsoon… Sam Rodríguez… Sundowner… LQ-84i… And it'll remain the tradition of having a full HQ staff to support Raiden on his jobs… The setting is 2018… And now war is fought by cyborgs…" Kuroban switched topics.

"Yeah. There'll still be some element of classic stealth but you'll also have access to upgrades after each mission… Not unlike in "_The Long of the Rings: the Two Towers"_…"

"By the way… That "Shuuen no Mono" guy… Thinking back… Fai did say that the "form changes according to the era and the one who witnesses it" so that could be another form of it… A form created to inspire fear and display power… It surprised me when Girahimu turned out to be Fai's antithesis, the spirit lodged in the guy's blade…"

"Sure…"

"Well. Guess we should leave the gaming chat at here."

"True. We need to think what we need to. Chase "Ghost", I guess?"

"Indeed. Such a foe can't be left unchecked. They might bring chaos on the second we lower our guards. But there should be someone who could shed light on the matter…"

"And who's that?"

"Serenade…"

"Oh yeah! It was huge news: Serenade had been bidding his time and he suddenly returned with his body rebuilt by Golden Star under his personal request. I heard he spent some hours questioning Colonel for his behavior and it'd seem the guy's ended up unsure of himself, even." Eisei whistled in admiration.

"And I've confirmed that he was the one who interrupted my showdown with Burai too… But he made some good points."

"Sure did…"

"And it'd seem Forte AKA "Barbatos" will stop pestering others for a while once and for all… The only data I had on the man before coming over to here was that "Twilight" had managed an imitator but who was far more dynamic in behavior… During the Zenay III campaign… Or as they later named it… The "Shooting Star Adventures"…"

"Yeah. I know. I got up-to-date later on after being released from that Choina mafia man… Man. My legs took a while to recover but I did it nevertheless." Eisei shrugged.

"Ah. True. There was something I wanted to check with you, Gray, and this time… It's serious stuff… I heard that Leon got assaulted by a man who claimed to be Urateido's cousin. True?" Kuroban suddenly turned serious and sounded annoyed.

"W-well… Y-yeah… Guess he was looking up to the guy ever since a while ago but I think that his aunt, that is, Urateido's mom, also had some influence on the topic…"

"Why's that?"

"Ah? You didn't know?"

"Know… What?"

"That Urateido's parents run a porn store…"

"Hmpf! Hence the man's behavior, you mean to say?"

"O-of course… They've got a couple dungeons and all but they're all legal and all… And the store is very discreet too…"

"But assaulting isn't legal."

"I know! But don't look at me like I'm to blame! What Yadana does is not my business or Urateido's… And, besides, the school did punish him to broom both 1st year classrooms after classes…"

"Ah. If the school has set some punishment then… But I'd rather prefer to avoid these incidents."

"Like I said: we didn't know anything! The guy was acting solo."

"Ah. I thought you'd incentivized them to."

"No!" He defended himself.

"Fine, fine. Then let's leave it at there. By the way: did you figure out if Ijuuin Enzan's uncle had skeletons in the closet?"

"Sure did! Money in the Bahamas, Cayman, Taiwan, Andorra, Switzerland, Netherlands… And he had marihuana in the office too plus some serums which can cause temporary limb paralysis too… And he'd hired a secretary around my age just to have him go in his limo's back and suck it." He seemed to roll his eyes under the sunglasses and sighed.

"By all the… Worse than my own uncle! By the High One!" He cursed with a marked foreign accent.

"I know. Serenade was right: the world's gone mad."

"Sure has. And cowardly. War by terrorism? Terrorism? That is cowardly: you want war, fight it like warriors!"

"I'm afraid the "warrior spirit" got lost plenty of centuries ago and got replaced by arrogance…"

"By the High One! What foolish humans."

"Hey. Don't look at me like I'm to blame."

"I wasn't, yet…! Ah! Things were simpler in my age!"

"Well, who knows? I'm sure your kingdom had plenty of murders, smuggling and all that too? No kingdom is a Utopia, ya know?" Eisei argued to him.

"I know. I never paid much attention to those. Guess that's because news took days or weeks to reach you and by then the tale was over… And there were plenty of grim tales about previous generations of the royal family as well… Like one in which my mother's grandmother's sister poisoned her husband because she was having an affair with her nephew and wanted him to be the King… It'd seem that both were exiled and her grandmother became the ruling Queen until her son was old enough to rule…" He described with a sigh.

"Man. Sounds like Caesar Borgia supplied the poison, even."

"Yeah. I don't mind making sarcasm of it."

"But then…?"

"Ah! Well. My mother's grandmother son, my grandfather, was king, and then my mother was born… And she married my father… But she died of a fever because she was frail of health… I was… 5, I think."

"I see. Hence why you never mentioned her…"

"Yeah. It wasn't out of machismo or anything like that, anyway."

"A-alright. W-well. Guess I better get on the move and try to gather some hints or data."

"Good idea. Report personally to me afterwards."

Eisei nodded and walked off through some stairs in the north wall heading downwards while Kuroban looked at the skies.

"… Speaking of…? Could it be…? Nah… I'm over-thinking…"

11:31 AM (Japan Time)…

"… Phew. I can finally return to the office now that the mad tale with Uncle is over. Man."

"Indeed, Enzan – sama. Yet it looked like you were able to shake off some tension while on _Purgatory_, sir?"

"Somewhat, yeah. Can't say they've got a bad lifestyle. Most of them have some job which they do part-time so they're out most of the time or doing missions so… They always do something of profit…"

"Hi, Enzan – kun."

"Ah. Obihiro. Going over the data?"

"Yeah. Those guys owned at least 33 proxy companies from what I've figured out insofar. And scattered all over the globe."

"Jeez. They must've looked up those "Patriots"…"

"I wouldn't be surprised. Meijin – san did grumble about that a while back as well."

"Hello there~! My fellow conspirers enchanted by Uncle Merton!"

"Oh heck."

Enzan chatted with Blues until he met Obihiro in one corridor of the Net Police HQ next to the coffee vending machine: they began to comment the morning's happenings when Superintendent Oda strode in while stuffing both hands on his jeans' pockets and looking amused.

"Well! The "T. I. A." will face the "T. I. O." in the "Tour" album: not the Tour of France but the Tour of Spain!"

"Where's the joke?" Enzan sighed.

"… I see. Enzan – sama, sir… There's a running joke that "T. I. A." is misheard as "Tía" or "Aunt"… So there's the "T. I. O." which can be misheard as "Tío" or "Uncle"… In short, sir… Aunt Vs Uncle."

"… I see." He seemingly held back some swearing.

"How brilliant." Obihiro drily muttered.

"… And "T. I. O." stands for "Troyans Invictus Orbi": the Troy Horse Sect, see~! They're fanatics who claim the horse is supreme and that mechanical means of transport are inferior! They demand that the Tour of Spain be done on horse or they'll sabotage it!"

"Oh please." The three of them groaned.

"So M&F must take part in the Tour as participants and try to prevent the "T. I. O." from sabotaging it! Exciting! Dizzying! Terrifying!"

Enzan and Obihiro ran past him and further him while Oda chuckled under his breath and drew an iPod where Video Man's close-up was displayed on-screen.

"They lack patience, my fellow conspirer enchanted by Uncle Moran!"

"Indeed, sir! Ah! The youth. They always lack patience, sir." He played the resigned.

"Any tease clips?"

"Plenty of them, sir! "There go the 2 fellows!"… "Busybody, featherbrained and stoves, yessir!"… "We should squeeze their gullet!"… "I think that by kicking 'em in the middle of the navel…"… Three fellows pop their heads out from a bush along with the horse: countryside fellows enchanted by Uncle Moriarty, yessir!"

"Oho. How amusing, by Uncle Merton…"

"And then the horse ends up beaten by the dumb luck M&F drag along: after 3 tries he runs off and jumps into the zoo's lion area without minding them! Prefers that to the "T. I. O." guys!"

"Ironies of Uncle Moriarty~…"

"What's going on?" Meijin asked as he strolled in.

"Meijin – kun. You got promoted to _daishogun_."

"Promoted to Great General?"

"What the heck?" Punk wondered.

"And then they turn a road with a banner partly blocked by a guy having a meal… It reads "Port"… M thinks it's "Port Bou" but in truth it's "Port Aventura", the amusement park in the Tarragona area of Catalonia!"

"Not another of those… Let's scram."

"And ram a battering ram."

"Sure, sure."

"Heck."

"And then they try to pick a road labeled "Atajo" or "Shortcut" but in truth meant "Al Tajo"… The Tajo River, see! And M&F ended up being the only survivors of the whole Tour of Spain! And then they find a gigantic Troy Horse which they drag to the "T. I. A." HQ… It turned out to be filled with explosives and such the "T. I. A." HQ moved without previous warning once again!" Video Man laughed.

"They have a moving HQ, then."

"Yessir. A scattered moving HQ."

"Oho. You could patent it, my fellow."

"Indeed!"

"If you see Kage – kun tell him I await a showdown with his enchanted fellow, _Chat Noir_…"

"With the Boss, eh? Alright, sir! It shall be done. Video Man's oily and speedy word! Heh, heh, heh! _Action_!"

Video Man left the screen and Oda chuckled as he locked the iPod and placed it on his chest pocket: he whistled a tune and headed to the stairs' hall to look out through an open window at the street 4 floors below: he didn't spot anything out of the ordinary.

"Well. Getting serious. At least we put an end to those crazy guys: unraveling their whole network will still take weeks…"

"…to Smiles and a corner kick which flew straight into the goal!"

"Yeah! I watched the replay! Cool!"

"Boys will be boys!"

Oda looked over the handrail to see two officers having a coffee break and apparently having a chat over soccer: a female officer walked past them while carrying some documents and seemed to direct an amused smile at them but they didn't seem to realize.

"Ahem! Allergic Hectic Electric Morgue!" A voice rang out from a higher floor.

"Huh? Who's that?"

"Dunno."

Oda frowned and began to climb the stairs yet he didn't seem to spot anyone in particular.

"This breeze…? The rooftop door is open…? Someone in the rooftop, then…? Young Eisei…? His voice does sound a bit different to begin with: maybe a companion of his…?" He wondered.

He reached the rooftop and spotted Sieg giving him the back and whispering into his PET while giggling: Oda merely lifted his eyebrows and hid behind the door taking profit of its angle: he could see through the gap between door and wall.

"MEHA! Marching Enchanting Hushing Announcement!"

"… How lame." Oda inwardly muttered as if his mood to joke had suddenly left him.

"Roto! Don't kid us, man." One of the officers complained downstairs.

"That wasn't me, man." Another argued back.

"Atada?" The first one asked.

"Not me. I'm working. Maybe it's one of those Shunoros bad boys who dropped by again." The female officer replied.

"Oh come on." Both groaned.

"PIKACHUU! Pulsing Irritating Advancing Crossing Hallucinating Undulating Underwear!"

"Oh please." Oda rolled his eyes out of exasperation.

"POKEMON! Power of Original Knowledge and Extremely Mega Overpowered Nature!"

"Let him stop already…!" He was getting fed up.

"ODA! Obfuscating Dancing Athlete!"

"I've had ENOUGH." He grumbled.

He walked up to Sieg from behind and cleared his throat: Sieg gasped and whipped around to see his annoyed face.

"… Leave. Now. Or else…" He threatened.

Sieg ran into the building and he heard him running down the stairs at a maddening speed while he fumed.

"Who was that? The Superintendent's nephew?"

"I don't think so. I think it's one of them."

"He didn't look too old, though…"

"Guess they're a mix of ages."

"Oh well." Oda inwardly sighed.

He walked back in and locked the door behind him: he hummed a tune and climbed down the stairs at a slow pace.

"Let's get back to work and enchant Uncle Merton." He inwardly muttered as his mood brightened.

_Meijin – kun looks like he's casted away that guilt of the past which was chasing him, too, thanks to Serenade's return… Stability is feasible once again, too. And let's hope we can keep it for a while… While we try to unravel the enigma of "Ghost"…! Who are they?_


	21. Chapter 21: Stability

**Chapter 21: Stability**

13:43 PM (Japan Time), Saturday June the 11th…

"… Man. Next week we begin THE exams… I can't wait to tackle them and get rid of this pressure, Saito – niisan…"

"I gotta agree with you on that, Netto – kun…"

"Even Dekao is behaving… And Yaito too… Guess exams do have the "Pressure" ability like some PKMN, huh?"

"Sure thing…"

Netto and Saito were studying in their house's bedroom and they looked rather nervous at the prospect of the exams looming ahead of them: both their textbooks and notebooks were opened and both were going over some Math concepts.

"At least we made sure our calculators are in conditions… We did check their batteries too…" Netto sighed.

"Yeah. I know. Next week will be THE week. But once it's over then we'll earn a well-deserved break."

"Sponsored by Break Man?"

"Hah, hah. How original."

"Heh! I feel like it… Huff. It's hot. I'll open the window a bit and let some air inside… I hope Papa drops by more often this summer… It improves the house's mood…"

"I know. Let's hope he doesn't get overloaded with jobs either."

"This summer won't be free of trouble… We need to figure out the true colors of "Ghost"…"

"And we must hope that Forte achieves healing, yet that might take weeks if not months… Over 20 years of hatred and grudge don't vanish like that."

Both sighed and formed half-smiles as if being concerned about what loomed in the horizon…

13:46 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Huff. I need a cup of water from time to time or else this heat is gonna kill me. Hey, Roll. Any big news?"

"Not really. Everything seems to have turned sluggish. Oh yes. Higure – san, the Net Police Cyber CID member, has opened an online site for exchanging of Battle Chips."

"Hum. I see."

"He's named it Higureya."

"Catchy, I guess."

Meiru was standing in the kitchen and having a glass of water: she sported her usual clothes but had switched the skirt and the stockings for jeans and was had her slippers on too: she didn't seem too surprised at the news Roll brought over to her.

"Well. Monday: Math & Japanese. Tuesday: English & History. Wednesday: Physics & Technology. Thursday: Natural Sciences. Friday: P. E. Theory Exam. The Hellish Week. Sure is worthy of the popular nickname." She listed before rolling her eyes.

"Come on, Meiru – chan. You could pass them the last 3 times. I'm sure you'll get brilliant marks too."

"Well. More than brilliant marks I'd rather prefer to pass them."

"That's true, too, anyway."

"Huff. Alright. I'm going back to my room. Check out the email and only tell me if it's something very urgent."

"OK, Meiru – chan."

Meiru climbed the house's stairs into the first floor bedroom and sat down in front of the desk to resume studying for the exams.

_It's been almost a year, but… Will the wound on my heart heal? I hope so: I can't live on with that coming to haunt me the whole time… Ah…_

13:49 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Guts, guts. Dekao – sama: the exams, the exams!"

"Be quiet, Guts Man…! Whaddya thinking I'm doing? My PC is missing the power cable, the TV is locked, and my PET closed with key inside of the cupboard…! You're inside the PET, too…!"

"Guts?"

"Sheesh. What's with the guy?"

Dekao was also going over the textbook and notebook while sweating from the heat and trying to ignore Guts Man's voice coming from a close by spot: he was replying in a hushed tone.

"Go to the Internet! Don't come back until the evening!"

"Guts, guts. Roger, de guts."

"Phew. Wait and see, Netto~! I'll beat ya in the exams and Meiru will praise me…!"

"DEKAO~!" A woman yelled off the room.

"Wha! I – I'm on it, mom!"

"YOU BETTER BE~!"

"Man. I talk too loud." He muttered under his breath.

He heard the sound of a vacuum cleaner turned on and sighed in relief as he resumed going over the textbook.

"Then… First comes what is contained in brackets, then the parenthesis and then the stuff outta them… Gotta remember the calculator commands… I'll get into high school! Just ya wait…! Yaito! Ya money won't help ya out there! Hmpf!"

"DEKAO~!"

"Yikes. She'd already finished cleansing…!"

"STUDY~!"

13:52 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Yaito!"

"Wha! Daddy! Don't burst in so suddenly!"

"You better be studying."

"I knew that!"

"Don't force me to be reminding you the whole time."

"Not like I had the intention to!"

"Hum. We'll see. Next week we'll know."

"… Phew! Sheesh. I shouldn't be doing this stuff: I'm high-class…!"

"I heard that, Yaito! I did them too!"

"Times were different!"

"Oh yes? Well. Do you want me to be legally processed for bribing the school?"

"YIKES!"

"Sheesh. This child…!"

Yaito was also going over her notes and examples plus her solved Math exercises when her father stepped into the room: she looked up from the desk (facing the door) and fumed: when he closed the door and left she began to mutter aloud but her father came back in and scolded her: she gasped and he slapped his forehead out of exasperation.

"You couldn't even think of that? Your selfishness clouds your judgment, Yaito, and that's worrisome. You need to learn that if you want to run Gabcom in the future."

"Oh come on!"

"No good." Glyde grimly muttered.

"Study!"

13:55 PM (Japan Time)…

"… Huff. Let next week come already!"

"Tooru – kun, desu? You look nervous, desu."

"Of course. They're the last middle school exams! I'm staking my entrance into high school in them, see!"

"Oh! I see! Desu."

"Couldn't you go to the Internet to have fun in the new child park? If I'm alone I'll concentrate more."

"Roger, desu! Later, desu!"

"Later. Huff. Come on, I can do it… It's just the nerves…!"

Like his other friends, Hikawa was also immersed in preparing the upcoming exams: he had his notebooks and textbooks neatly split in different piles.

"I split them according to what subjects I gotta tackle every day: this way it helps me remember what I'll be studying the next day. I've been preparing since Monday… I hope this week of preparing pays off neatly enough…! High school…! Boy! Time DOES fly by." He muttered before whistling in admiration and rolling his eyes.

He picked the edges of the chair's seat and pulled up a bit to then drag it back: he stood up and stretched as he paced around his bedroom: he carried a pen which he unconsciously turned around within his right hand's fingers: he went on clicking the button.

"I have confidence in Natural Sciences. It's always been a topic I've paid a lot of attention to, anyway."

He sat on his bed and looked at the ground while seemingly concentrating or thinking about it.

"Yeah. Calm down, Tooru… I can do it… I'll do it! I'm not afraid! Let's go!"

_Let's tackle this wall and emerge victorious!_

14: 07 PM (Japan Time)…

"… So, Zero… What is the status of the analysis?"

"For the time being… We uncovered another 17 proxies… But no trace of "Ghost" or those two… I've looked into Ijuuin Enzan's uncle computer to try to find any traces of how he met the "Ghost Server"… But it was too late: all data regarding that had been formatted."

"Hum. I see."

"Sorry. I should've acted earlier, Boss."

"No use going over mistakes of the past. We must focus on the present and in the upcoming future."

"Roger."

Zero and Slur were having a chat inside of the super-computer as the Program – kuns moved files around or sorted them: three of them had put on red, white and blue _ninja_ clothing respectively including a _katana_ on its sheath.

"Where is Serenade?"

"He left for Dr. Cossack's place, as usual."

"I see. That is good."

"SPEED!"

"JUMP!"

"WATER-RUN!"

"THE THREE _NINJUTSU_!"

"Whose idea was that?" Slur asked with some amusement.

"Serenade's. He wanted to give them some fun. Dunno where he got the idea from, though. He directed one of his enigmatic smiles at me."

"Hum. It would seem Serenade wants to remind us that we should consider them friends and not servants."

"I guessed as much."

"WITNESS! THE NINJA TRIO~! SEYA~! THE CAMPAIGN'S BEGUN!"

"Go play in the main Cyber World, guys." Zero told them.

"ROGER! _NIN_!"

They vanished with a cloud of smoke and Slur formed an amused smile while Zero shrugged his shoulders.

"Anyway. VP _Noir_ is working on some bureaucratic stuff, Legato went to patrol and President Hades and Mr. Daikanai are going over general finances… Ikada went off with Atarasei into a mission to raid a drug lab. Suzuki is at the DNN. Qong and Zarashe are working out in the gym. Leon's studying for his exams. Tozukana is on the simulator… Kage didn't come over 'cause he's studying too." He listed.

"I see. What about the other Navis?"

"Pharaoh Man is into _World of Warcraft_ along with Cosmo Man: dunno when they started to get along. Freeze Man is undergoing some update to his ice abilities. The V-B-N trio has started to shuffle through M&F comics to decide the next couple comics for next season… Dark Man is on the cafeteria along with Shade Man… Napalm Man went off to the Reverse Internet to bust Viruses…" He listed next.

"Morale is high nevertheless?"

"Yeah. No doubt about that, Boss."

"That is good."

"I'll continue to dig up data and see if I find anything relevant: maybe I could find the bank account from which the money was sent to "Ghost" and thus have an idea of where the account may be lodged at. Money transactions use powerful encoding so the transmissions can't remain hidden so easily." He suggested.

"Ah. Good point. Start the search up."

"Roger."

"I shall go ask something out of President Hades… Goodbye."

"Later, Boss."

Slur opened her "portal" and vanished inside of it while Zero sat down on his chair: he opened a screen and it displayed a spot where Colonel, Shadow Man, Thunder Man and Search Man had met.

"Hard to believe, though… That Serenade did come back…" Colonel was telling Thunder Man.

"Well. I had the feeling he would." Thunder Man shrugged.

"Intriguing…" Shadow Man chuckled.

"Well. I never met him but I guess this is good… It will help bring some further order to the Reverse Internet." Search Man muttered.

"Hum. We'll see." Barrel sentenced.

"Yeah. Let's wait and see." Laika suggested.

"Hmpf… You lot… Don't get impatient… Time will tell…" Dark Miyabi dully told them.

"Yeah. I hope you've learn the lesson not to try to use us as your proxies, right, Barrel?" Raoul questioned.

"I learnt it. Let's quit that discussion."

"Hmpf. Fine… And in their turf…?" Zero wondered.

He switched screens to show Tomahawk Man undergoing an examination in the Ameroupe Army base clinic: Meddy was looking at some displays and didn't seem to be too surprised.

"Don't worry, Tomahawk Man. This Virus just displays the message "YOU SUCK" and doesn't do anything else. I already disposed of it."

"Alright. Guess that's what happens when I rush into a Reverse Navi without watching out for this kind of tricks."

"Oi, Tomahawk Man…" Dingo whispered to him.

"What now, Dingo?"

"Jefferson…" He trailed off.

"Not again." He groaned.

"What do we do?"

"I've got the solution right here… Oi, Colonel! Jefferson." Tomahawk Man grumbled and opened a line.

"Jefferson? Gotcha. Barrel."

"Jefferson! Report to my office on the double! NOW!" Barrel called out through the real-world speakers.

"Fine. Let's check on the Cyber CID."

He opened another screen: Oda was telling something to Meijin, Enzan and Obihiro but they looked skeptical and unimpressed.

"… hid in the basement breakers' cupboard and I smelt him out using my Merton Nose…" Oda was seemingly improving another tale.

"Sure, sure." The four of them (Blues & Punk included) replied.

"And then! Something happened! He broke his right thumb's nail!"

"Oh yes? Is it worth bringing it up to begin with, sir?" Obihiro sighed.

"I don't think so." Punk grumbled.

"Sure thing." Enzan fumed.

"Earth, swallow us whole…!" Meijin groaned.

"Someone save us." Blues cursed.

"SAVE! Don't forget! Shave with the Atomic Velocity Espuma!"

"Espuma? Foam, huh. That's Eisei, alright."

"And then other day I told Aragoma – kun to bring me a souvenir."

"Aragoma? And what did he bring? A joke manual?" Blues asked.

"No, sir! A book on _sushi_, see~…"

"The guy must've bought the first thing he set his eyes into some bazaar and picked it 'cause it had to be cheap." Enzan guessed.

"Excellent deduction, hound of Densan-ville!" Eisei laughed.

"Not this again." He fumed.

"Hmpf…" Zero sounded slightly amused.

"YAY! DENSAN-VILLE HOUND – SAMA~!"

"He even programmed the Program – kun in my PET to yell this the whole time, the…!" Obihiro cursed as he looked at it.

"Elemental, my dear Oni – sama."

"OBIHIRO! OBI!" He growled.

"OBIHIRO! Only By Infiltrating Heretic Inferno you Rule Order!"

"Heretic Inferno~?" He demanded.

"Dunno! Guess I'm gonna patent it for the next _Diablo_ game if there ever is one to begin with." He laughed.

"Gray…!" Kuroban hissed on the other end.

"YIKES!"

"Come back NOW…! Or else…!"

"R-roger!"

"Hmpf. Eisei… You're in for trouble. I'll keep an eye out on that Yanada guy to make sure he doesn't try to drag anyone else into his petty ploys: I'm not really sure what they are about but if it's a crime then… We better not leave the guy roaming around unchecked."

"NINJA STYLE~! SEYA~!"

"Oh well. Guess these guys will provide some entertainment. Heh, heh."

"DRAW THOU _KATANA_! THE CAMPAIGN'S STARTING! SEYA~!"

15:15 PM (Philippines Time)…

"… Sheesh!"

"What's up, Eisei?"

"Urateido, huh. Well. I got scolded again. _Aibou_ and his mania to monitor my PET… I was pulling some jokes in the Cyber CID locale…"

"Guess he wants to remind ya there's a limit to everything."

"Guess that, Sieg, but… Sheesh. What's with the cousin guy?"

"Bruce? Studying for the exams. Heh! I'm not sorry that I quit middle school last summer. Less work for me. Mom doesn't seem to care to begin with. As long as I figure out the workings of the store…"

"Heh! Guess _ani-ue-sama_'s brains are goin' up in smoke by now."

"Guess that. I also quit school because I got kidnapped, ya know. And I'd just gotten to start middle."

Eisei stroded into the pier and sat next to Sieg as he and Urateido were having some chat: he looked fed up and a chat began amongst the three of them but Eisei had just stuffed both hands in the pockets and was looking elsewhere out of his offended mood.

"Cheer up. I set up a camera in the living room. Let's check on our beloved club enchanted by Uncle Moriarty~…" Urateido drew his PET and inputted some commands.

"Heh, heh, heh. Gotcha, got-cha." Sieg giggled.

"Huff. How lame." Eisei fumed.

"How the tables have turned, eh, Eisei?"

"Laugh all ya want, Urateido. It makes no difference."

"Alright! The whole club except for Prince – sama, Dullahan and us three are gathered there…" Urateido grinned.

"Lemme see~… Oho~…"

"… Go, Aeon! Beat Umisama's Devil Jin!"

"Devil Jin! Beat Netsuhonoo's Aeon!"

"Heh! Ivy! The avatar of me, Kisei! Beat 'em all!"

"Not so fast! Raphale here, the avatar of Kazebun – sama~!"

"Hmpf… _Soul Calibur V_, huh…"

The trio looked on at how Netsuhonoo, Umisama, Kisei and Kazebun were engrossed in playing the "Soul Calibur V" videogame with the PS3 console: they all held remotes and looked engrossed with the game.

"Hmpf… Struggle for a while… I'm finishing up my _Black_ game and trying to master Black City…" Ernst muttered as he played with his Nintendo DS while using earphones: he was sitting in an armchair.

"Where's Dully?" Sieg laughed.

"Guess he's doing some maintenance."

He switched screens to show Laser Man standing in a room and working on what seemed to be a tall headless robot shaped like an European knight's armor: it used purple as the main color but had some spots with yellow and white coloring: the robot also had a purple-reddish cape attached to the back.

"I need to improve the mobility." Laser Man muttered.

He'd lifted the chest plate to reveal some hydraulic systems to move the arms and legs plus the central miniature power core: he was wielding a wrench on the left hand and a lantern in the right on to provide better illumination given how the cover itself blocked most of the ceiling's fluorescent tubes' light.

"To think I was able to crush petty humans with this body's hands and create an atmosphere of terror…! Yet it all seems to have faded by now: the damned traitor must be to blame! One day I'll bury them in endless "Dark"…!"

"Du-lla-ha-n. Pissing me off AGAIN?"

"Huh! P-Prince, sir!"

Kuroban had suddenly stepped in behind Laser Man: he gasped and turned around while automatically saluting: he did remember to switch off the lantern.

"How MANY times do we need to go over THIS?" Kuroban was already annoyed.

"W-well, sir, I…" He trailed off.

"ARE YOU AN IDIOT?" Kuroban began to yell.

"N-no, sir…!"

"PROVE IT, BY THE HIGH ONE!"

"R-roger, sir…!"

"OR ELSE I'M SO GONNA FORMAT YOUR WHOLE MEMORIES AND TURN YOU INTO SOMEONE FAR MORE INTELLIGENT!"

"R-roger, sir…! I shall… prove my worth, sir!"

"YOU BETTER DO!"

"R-roger, sir…!"

"I'M HAL: I'M WATCHING YOU! LIKE I WAS A BABYSITTER! BY THE HIGH ONE: I, THE PRINCE, HAVING TO BABYSIT A DARKLOID! THIS WORLD HAS GONE MAD!" His foreign accent became accentuated.

SLAM!

Kuroban rushed out and slammed the door on the way out: Laser Man sighed and seemed to come to terms with the situation.

"Can't be helped… I guess my grudge clouds my judgment… I must prove my worth or I know what's in store for me…"

"Oh? Grudge, you say? That could be interesting." A voice rang out of nowhere.

"Who's that?" The trio suddenly wondered.

"Who's there?" Laser Man demanded.

"10 seconds."

"10 seconds?"

"Do you want to unleash that "grudge" into the one you "grudge" and thus erase them? I can concede you that desire."

"B-but… I am loyal to the Prince…! He rebuilt me, after all!"

"But I was the one who gathered your data and then gave it to the Prince – dono so that you could be rebuilt… I am "XY"…"

"The "Ghost"!"

"WHA?" The trio gasped.

Eisei didn't waste a second and ran inside of the base while the other two were looking on.

"2 seconds."

"… Yet…! If I could erase them, then…! Yes…! I'm fed up with being controlled…! We "Darkloids" are beings of the "Dark Cyber World": we don't need a human to control us! We should be the ones controlling the humans: damned Shade Man! I'll bury you too for your treason. I accept: I don't mind pledging loyalty to you." Laser Man sounded eager.

"Do not worry. I shall not stop you. I shall only provide you a refuge: you then decide what to do. But if I need you to run a mission then… You would accept it? A mission in which you would set the fear on society by proving that you have returned?" "XY" asked.

"Delighted!"

"Excellent. As they popularly say… Welcome onboard."

"Wait!"

"Too late, Kuroban Howsad! Mwah, hah, hah, hah!"

"Alas, it is too late. Warp Magic!"

"Wha!"

"My eyes!"

"Ouwah!"

"Huh!"

Kuroban and Eisei had rushed into the room but there was a blinding flash which forced Urateido and Sieg to look away from the screen as well: when it vanished both Laser Man and the robot were gone and only the lantern and wrench were left in the room.

"Fuck. Too slow." Eisei cursed.

"By the High One! "XY", is it? They want war, huh? I'll give them war, by the High One!" Kuroban cursed.

"It must be some system based on "Dimensional Converter" warp but greatly improved… Or it could be a mere flash and they use a "portal" like the ones we own…!" Eisei deduced.

"By all the…" Urateido uttered.

"Fuck." Sieg let out.

"What's with the commotion, Prince, sir?" Ernst asked from outside the room.

"Laser Man's defected to "XY", our "Ghost"…"

"By all the…"

"Hmpf! Whatever. I get rid of the need to babysit the guy: now we have an excuse to delete the guy. If any of you find the fool in battle you're authorized to delete them. I'm sure even Slur would agree: I don't want the fool to stage a campaign of trying to smear Styx." He ordered.

"Roger. I shall do it in a dispassionate manner."

"So you lowlife's name is "XY"… I shall remember it! Sworn foe!"

_By the will of the Four Heavenly Kings and the High One… Let there be war!_

23:23 PM (Bangkok Time)…

"… The witnesses have gathered. Witnesses. Do you accept this one as a member of our city?"

"Yes!"

"There is no hesitation? There is no doubt? Do you all speak out of your free will?"

"Yes, we do!"

"Do you back my proposal? Input the votes."

"Roger."

"… Oh? Drill Man. You voted in blank. You are not sure of it?"

"Do excuse me, XY – sama. But I need some more time to think about it."

"We respect your decision. The formalities are finished. Welcome to "Helios", Laser Man."

"It is an honor, XY – sama."

Laser Man had been kneeling in front of semi-transparent golden curtain fluttering by the wind: someone's shape could be guessed inside of the cubicle they formed: this was set just beneath the center of a gray stone dome with eight thick arches stretching from it: the surroundings were rather unlit but several Navis' shapes (the same ones which hit _Purgatory_) could be seen forming a circle around them: some metallic cubical pedestals with red, green and blank buttons were set in front of each.

"In "Helios"… I do not rule. "Helios" is what tells us what to do. When you want to act, then you must submit your plan to voting by everyone."

"I understand, XY – sama. Let my presence bring glory to "Helios"!"

"Glory to "Helios"!" The other Navis exclaimed.

There was a general round of applause and "XY" chuckled aloud…

**THE END**


End file.
